NewsFlash: NPR reports from Adigrat, quotes Ethiopian spokesman Haile Kiros as saying several thousand Eritrean soldiers may be trapped near Tserona. Adigrat residents delighted with liberation of Zalambessa.

Late Update: Eritrean Central Front has Collapsed - A disastrous rout is underway as Eritrean forces disintegrate. Tonight, the Ethiopian spokesperson has given more details of the fighting: Tsorena is under Ethiopian control while Eritrean forces in the Hazemo plain are being destroyed by the Ethiopian airforce. The Eritreans were routed so badly that they could not even keep the strategic fortress originally built by the Italians known as "Forte." This strongpoint is located in Eritrea just north of Zalambessa and controls access to the northern part of the Zalambessa valley. Eritrean troops have not only lost this point, but they are also being overwhelmed at points along the plateau extending towards Senafe.

Farcical News: Eritrea announces plan to withdraw from Zalambessa at midnight Thursday as Eritrean central front nears collapse.

Eritrea conscripts more boys: After getting the young men slaughtered for nothing, Isayas now begins preying on the boys "In Asmara, groups of boys as young as 14 stood huddled on street corners, their rucksacks packed with belongings as they prepared to be taken to fight a war they may already have lost." - Reuters, May 25

Update from yesterday,(May 24): Tonight Ethiopia reported details of the fighting in three subsections of the central front. Most striking is the capture of Enda-Gherghis and Ksad-Ika on the highway south of Adi Quala. This indicates that the Ethiopian forces from Mai Mine in Seraye have linked up with those in the central front. Whatever remains of the Eritrean trench line in the Hazemo plain is now in danger of completely unraveling. Also Ethiopia reported liberation of substantial areas of occupied Irob territory including Alitiena and Menekuseyto, although fighting was continuing. Significant advances were also made in the center as Ethiopan forces broke the Eritrean line at several points.

UPDATE #2: Eritrea accelerates the timetable (its forces are fleeing): The redeployment has already begun," said Eritrea's U.N. ambassador, Haile Menkerios. -- Reuters, May 24 10:56 PM Eastern Time (US).

UPDATE #3: In a comical statement to BBC, Eritrea said it was withdrawing from Alitiena also, which Ethiopia already captured last night. The Eritreans are trying to sell this farce as being their contribution to peace, but even the Asmara journalists are rejecting that spin.

Meanwhile, a sign of Eritrean desperation and an example of the sickness of war was reported today as the AP noted: "School buses carried boys who looked no older than their early teens for hasty arming and training."