``Ethiopia has launched a large-scale offensive (at the Badme front),'' Eritrean presidential adviser Yermane Gebremesekel told Reuters. ``The ground attack started at 4.30 a.m. (0130 GMT) this morning.''

Fighting between the Horn of Africa neighbours resumed on February 6 in the Badme area after an eight-month lull, before spreading to two other fronts.

After three days of infantry battles, the fighting subsided, with only sporadic artillery exchanges and bombing raids along the 1,000 km (600 mile) frontier, only to erupt again this week.

Tuesday's Ethiopian attack was preceded by intensive shelling and bombing of Eritrean positions on all three fronts on Sunday and Monday.

The infantry advance was backed by tanks, heavy artillery and air power, Gebremeskel said. ``It seems to be on a bigger scale than February 6,'' he said.

The Badme region is a scrubby 400 square km (160 square mile) triangle of sparsely-populated land where both sides claim sovereignty.

Ethiopian government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse confirmed that fighting was taking place on Tuesday morning, as Ethiopia tried to regain contested territory which Eritrea occupied during the first round of the border war in May last year.

``The war will keep on escalating as long as Eritrea remains in our territory,'' she told Reuters late on Monday.

Selome said Ethiopian planes and artillery had inflicted heavy losses on Eritrea in the last two days, but Eritrea said Ethiopia's bombardment had been ineffective.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the border war have so far failed, with Eritrea rejecting a plan drawn up by the Organisation of African Unity which calls on it to withdraw from the contested territory before negotiations on its status begin.

On Monday, the United States criticized Ethiopia for using its air force in the latest round of clashes and urged it to resume a moratorium on air raids brokered by the U.S. last June.

``The United States government deeply regrets the use of air power by Ethiopia in the current conflict, in particular against economic targets and near civilian population centres,'' U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said in a statement.

Ethiopia has used fighter planes and helicopter gunships in the last three weeks, and its Antonov warplanes on Sunday bombed the airport at Eritrea's strategic Red Sea port of Assab, around 70 km (45 miles) from the southern front at Burre. Eritrea said the bombs missed their target.

Intro: There is more fighting in the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. As V-O-A's Scott Stearns reports, this latest round of combat is now entering its third week.

Text: Ground forces opened fire before dawn Tuesday, near the disputed border town, Badame. Heavy fighting is reported on both sides along this front, less than 150 kilometers from the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

Eritrean troops captured Badame last May. Ethiopia has been trying to get it back in this latest round of fighting -- moving north from Ayay into the Geza Gerlassie plain, but so far failing to gain the high ground around Badame, itself.

Fighting has spread to three other fronts with combat 100 kilometers to the east on the Tsorona front; shelling at the border town, Zallambesa; and Ethiopian bombing runs on the Eritrean port, Asab.

Regional mediators want to arbitrate the border dispute. Ethiopia has accepted that plan. Eritrea is yet to respond. There has been no progress toward a ceasefire, as both sides seem determined to continue the fight. (signed)

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23-Feb-99 3:34 am Est (0834 utc)
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ASMARA (Reuters) - There is more Eritrea said it destroyed nine Ethiopian tanks Tuesday in repulsing a major ground offensive by Ethiopia, apparently the heaviest fighting between the two sides in their border conflict this year.

Ethiopian government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse said Eritrea's claims that it had destroyed its tanks were a ``total fabrication.''

The attack, in which Ethiopian ground troops pushed across no-man's-land toward Eritrean trenches, started early Tuesday morning and was preceded by an Ethiopian barrage using artillery and war planes for much of Monday.

Fighting between the Horn of Africa neighbors resumed on February 6 in the Badme area along the Mereb-Setit rivers after an eight-month lull. It then spread to two other fronts.

``Ethiopia has repulsed two waves of Ethiopian attacks at the Mereb-Setit front,'' Eritrean spokesman Yermane Gebremeskel told Reuters in Asmara. ``It appears that its (Ethiopia's) offensive is more of a mechanized attack this time.''

The Badme region is a 160-square-mile triangle of sparsely populated scrubland claimed by both sides.

Ethiopia is trying to regain contested territory at Badme, which Eritrea occupied during the first round of the border war in May last year.

``The war will keep on escalating as long as Eritrea remains in our territory,'' Taddesse earlier told Reuters.

Selome said Ethiopian planes and artillery had inflicted heavy losses on Eritrea in the last two days, but Eritrea said Ethiopia's bombardment had been ineffective.

Both sides said there were skirmishes on a second front at Tsorona, east of Badme. There were no details of a third front southwest of the strategic Eritrean Red Sea port of Assab.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the border war have failed so far, with Eritrea rejecting a plan drawn up by the Organization of African Unity calling on it to withdraw from the contested territory before negotiations on its status begin.

Monday, the United States criticized Ethiopia for using its air force in the latest clashes and urged it to resume a moratorium on air raids brokered by Washington last June.

Ethiopia has sent out fighter planes and helicopter gunships in the last three weeks. Its Antonov warplanes Sunday bombed the airport at Assab, about 45 miles from the southern front at Burre. Eritrea said the bombs missed their target.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia with the Ethiopian government's blessing in May 1993 after a referendum and, until last year, the two countries were considered allies.

(Additional reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa)