OWN CORRESPONDENT, Addis Ababa | Tuesday 2.00pm.
ETHIOPIAN and Eritrean forces pounded each other on the key central front of their border war even as diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting gathered pace.
Both sides said fighting erupted early on Tuesday in the morning on the central Zalambessa front, where thousands of troops are lined up against each other for what could be the most ferocious battle of a war that has already killed tens of thousands.
Ethiopia has made huge advances in an offensive on the western front over the past 12 days, but it is not clear if the shift in the balance of power makes a peaceful settlement more or less likely.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met African diplomats based in Addis Ababa on Monday and said his government still favoured a peaceful settlement but would not agree to a ceasefire.
”We shall negotiate while fighting. We shall fight while negotiating,” Meles said. ”Whichever road leads to peace quickly will be the road we follow.”
Special envoys from the European Union and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) were to fly from Ethiopia to Eritrea on Tuesday for a new round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Eritrea has called for a ceasefire and said it would attend a new round of talks without preconditions.
OAU envoy Ahmed Ouyahia said after meeting Meles on Monday that he was ”optimistic” a quick end to the war could be found.
”I am optimistic and have reason to believe that, with the readiness of the two sides and if wisdom prevails, one can hope that the war in which thousands have lost their lives could come to an end soon,” he said.
But one military analyst said he believed Ethiopia was determined to destroy Eritrea’s army and would launch a huge assault on the Zalambessa front in the coming days.
”The Ethiopians have got their death masks on,” he said. –Reuters