Eritrea accepted the OAU's detailed peace plan Saturday, which calls for a cease-fire, a withdrawal of troops to positions they held before fighting began on May 6 last year, and then negotiations on the disputed border area.

But Ethiopian government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse said her government still had questions about the document, which was presented to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the weekend by Algerian special envoy Ahmed Ouyahia.

``Ethiopia has requested clarification on some points of the technical arrangement from the current chairman of the OAU, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika,'' she said in a statement.

``When these answers are forthcoming, the Ethiopian government will make known its position,'' she added.

The document sets out the technical arrangements for the implementation of an OAU framework agreement for peace, which both sides said they accepted in principle last month.

It was drawn up after more than a week of negotiations between Ethiopian and Eritrean delegates in Algiers.

A statement faxed to Reuters from the ministry in Asmara said: ``President Isayas (Afewerki) informed the OAU delegation, led by Algerian special envoy Ahmed Ouyahia, of Eritrea's acceptance in a meeting yesterday (Saturday) evening.

``Eritrea has also pledged its full co-operation with the OAU and the United Nations in implementing the three agreements -- the framework agreement, the modalities, and the technical arrangements -- as the sole basis for resolving the dispute.''

Ouyahia was expected to ask Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to also formally accept the peace proposals, handed to Meles in Addis Ababa Friday.

Ouyahia, a former Algerian prime minister, left Asmara Sunday for the OAU headquarters in Addis Ababa. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the current OAU chairman.

The Eritrean ministry statement added: ``The envisaged next steps are a formal signature of all three documents, a cessation of hostilities, redeployment (of troops), the installation of civilian administrations and (border) demarcation within specific time frames.''

The OAU plan was drawn up after a week of negotiations in Algiers attended by delegations from both Horn of Africa countries. It calls for each side to withdraw to positions held before the border fighting broke out in May l998.

Negotiations on disputed areas along the 1,000-km (600-mile) border would follow.

Despite their acceptance in principle of the OAU plan last month, both countries have remained on a war footing, with each expressing doubt about the other's commitment to peace.

Each side claims to have killed tens of thousands of enemy soldiers in the intermittent fighting, but neither side has given its own casualty figures.

But ICRC President Cornelio Sammuraga expressed regret that a request by his delegation to visit Ethiopian POWs in Eritrea had been denied.

``I am satisfied with the full and transparent access to Eritrean prisoners of war and other detainees in Ethiopia,'' Sammuraga told a press conference on Saturday night, at the end of a two-day visit.

``Despite talks with Eritrean President Isayas Afeworki in Asmara, we are facing major obstacles to reach Ethiopian prisoners of war and other detainees in Eritrea,'' he added. Sammuraga said he held talks with Ethiopian authorities including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi during his two-day visit.

He said he had received assurances from Meles that if there were a further deportation of Eritreans it would be done in accordance with international humanitarian laws, with no family separations and no unaccompanied children.

Ethiopia claims that around 45,000 of its nationals have been deported from Eritrea since fighting broke out between the two Horn of Africa nations over a border dispute last year. Eritrea says around 61,000 of its citizens have been expelled from Ethiopia.

Sammuraga said both governments had declined to give casualty figures in their 15-month-old border war. Sammuraga said he also held talks with Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), on cooperation between the two organisations.

The OAU last week submitted to both Ethiopia and Eritrea detailed proposals for implementing an agreement aimed at resolving the border war.

Eritrea's foreign minister said in Asmara on Sunday that Eritrea had officially accepted the OAU proposal. Ethiopia has not yet confirmed its acceptance.

05 August 1999

The United States' "immediate and most urgent priority" in the Horn of Africa "is to help end the fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea and help resolve the border dispute which provoked this conflict," says Ambassador-Designate to Ethiopia Tibor Nagy.

Addressing the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a confirmation hearing on August 5, the veteran diplomat told lawmakers that the cost of the border conflict in terms of deaths and uprooted lives "has been incalculable."

"The conflict has set back economic and social progress for the entire Horn of Africa," said Nagy, whose last posting was as ambassador to Guinea. "We are working intensively with and supporting the Organization of African Unity's active efforts to end the conflict. A working group that includes participants from our government is now meeting in Algiers to prepare for a cease-fire and implementation of the OAU's Framework Agreement to resolve the conflict, and there is hope that a cease-fire can be reached soon. When the fighting stops and peace returns, we must do all we can to reassert stability and economic growth in Ethiopia and among its neighbors in the Horn."

Following is the text of Nagy's remarks, as prepared for delivery:

(begin text) Statement of Tibor P. Nagy, Ambassador-Designate to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

August 5, 1999

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

It is a great honor to appear before you all today as President Clinton's nominee to be the next United States Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. I am very grateful for the trust and confidence shown me by the president, Secretary of State Albright, and Assistant Secretary Rice by my nomination.

Mr. Chairman, most of my twenty-plus years of service in the United States Foreign Service have been spent in Africa. I have had the privilege of seeing Africa's immense potential and equally enormous challenges first-hand across the continent, from Guinea to the Seychelles. My last posting was as Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. I was born in Hungary and came to the United States as a refugee. I have a deeply personal understanding of the tragedies of war and civil unrest, and the uprooting of families that often follows. That experience also taught me the inestimable importance of a free society and democratic government.

Mr. Chairman, Ethiopia is one of our most important partners in Africa. Our bilateral relationship is founded on mutual strategic interests and the shared aspirations of our governments for the people of Ethiopia. Since the fall of the repressive socialist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, Ethiopia has made great strides toward building a democratic society, advancing human rights, and transforming its economic system to allow its full participation in the integrated world economy. In many of these areas progress has continued despite the border conflict. However, we need to help Ethiopia renew its focus on its future as the new millennium approaches.

Our immediate and most urgent priority is to help end the fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea and help resolve the border dispute which provoked this conflict. Tens of thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have been uprooted on both sides. The cost of the conflict to both Ethiopia and Eritrea has been incalculable. The conflict has set back economic and social progress for the entire Horn of Africa. We are working intensively with and supporting the Organization of African Unity's active efforts to end the conflict. A working group that includes participants from our government is now meeting in Algiers to prepare for a cease-fire and implementation of the OAU's Framework Agreement to resolve the conflict, and there is hope that a cease-fire can be reached soon. When the fighting stops and peace returns, we must do all we can to reassert stability and economic growth in Ethiopia and among its neighbors in the Horn.

Mr. Chairman, Ethiopia, with its thousands of years of history, its strategic position, its large and diverse population, its broad resources, and its natural affinity for U.S. interests in Africa as a whole, is and will remain central to our efforts to help Africa take up full partnership in the international community of nations. Since the fall of Mengistu, Ethiopia has been a reliable partner in our pursuit of stability and growth in the Horn of Africa. If confirmed by the Senate, I will look forward to applying my energy, skills, and experience to enhancing effective relations with Ethiopia and assuring that the strong relationship we have built over the past eight years continues to bear fruit. I am very much aware of the important responsibilities I face if confirmed as Ambassador. I want you to know that I will do my best to assure that our Embassy in Addis Ababa effectively represents the United States and our pursuit of our national goals. I will work with you and your colleagues on the Committee to insure that the resources placed in our charge by the citizens of the United States are applied wisely and prudently. Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to your questions.

(end text)