A few miles (km) away, tens of thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers face each other across the rugged, inhospitable terrain that marks their disputed border.

Since the 13-month-old conflict flared up again in February, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have fled their homes around the central Zalambessa front.

But some have remained in their hillside stone farmhouses, braving the threat of death or damage from ferocious artillery battles.

Apart from the war, their concern is water. The rainy season should be starting, but the skies are clear and their ploughs send swirls of dust from the bone-dry soil into the air. ``We trust in God. We hope the rains will come and peace will also prevail,'' a farmer said.

In a small village some 25 km (15 miles) from Zalambessa, a border town under Eritrean control for more than a year, some 100,000 displaced people gathered this week to receive their monthly survival handout of grain and oil from the Ethiopian government.

Elderly couples, weather-beaten farmers and women with babies slung on their backs came from their hideouts in the hills -- caves and nooks which have been their homes for months.

Ten thousand have fled Zalambessa, its shimmering roofs now visible only through binoculars from a vantage point on the top of Mount Dongolo.

Tesfaye Hadush, 38, a farmer who has lived all his life near Zalambessa, said he was angry and frustrated at being dependent on government handouts to support his wife and two children and worried about his family's health as winter approaches.

``My family and I live in a cave where there is hardly enough room for all of us,'' he said.

On the mountain, Ethiopian soldiers relaxed in makeshift shelters during a lull in fighting. They sang songs in Amharic, Tigrinya and Somali -- apparent evidence of the claim of Ethiopia's Tigrayan-dominated government that all Ethiopia's numerous ethnic groups back the war with Eritrea.

Tens of thousands of troops have been killed in trench warfare on three fronts along the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontier since the conflict first erupted in May 1998.

Kenyan military spokesman Nicholas Simani said the Somali militia gave back two stolen vehicles and all the weapons taken in the attack on Wednesday night.

He said two Kenyan army colonels secured the return of the hardware after meeting with 10 Somali elders and local leaders of the Somali National Front, allied to warlord Hussein Aideed, which apparently launched the attack.

``We were very serious about our ultimatum that we were going to go in and collect the vehicles,'' Simani told Reuters.

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi warned the militia leaders on Thursday that they would face ``unpleasant action'' unless the equipment was returned, and Kenyan Air Force jets flew over the warlord's territory inside Somalia.

About 400 militiamen, backed up with ``technical'' battle wagons mounted with anti-aircraft guns, attacked the Kenyan army patrol of about 20 soldiers on Wednesday evening and ordered them to hand over their guns.

Nobody was injured as the patrol offered no resistance.

Kenya's army has boosted its presence on the Somali border in recent weeks as a new round of fighting between rival factions and their foreign allies inside Somalia has raised tensions and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

Hundreds of Somali civilians have crossed the border seeking assistance at refugee camps in Kenya.

Central governing authority collapsed in Somalia in 1991 and the Horn of Africa country has been torn by armed anarchy since then.