It was not immediately possible to obtain Eritrean comment about the reported attack in Assab, 350 miles southeast of the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

"After having successfully completed its mission unhindered by any resistance from the Eritrean military, the air force returned safely to base," a statement from government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse said.

Both sides claim to have killed thousands of troops in the 13-month border war on the Horn of Africa. Fighting continued Saturday at the northern Badme front after Eritrea launched an attack Friday to recover territory it lost in February, the Ethiopian statement said. Eritrea captured Badme at the outset of the war in May 1998 but lost it again to an Ethiopian offensive in February.

Both countries have accepted an Organization of African Unity plan to arrange a peaceful end to the conflict, which has spread to several fronts along their 620-mile border, but they disagree over its interpretation.

The 11-point plan drafted in October calls for Eritrea to withdraw its troops from Badme as a goodwill gesture before an immediate cease-fire, and for both sides to withdraw from contested areas to allow the deployment of international observers while a new boundary is established.

"The Ethiopian air force bombed Assab airport this morning at 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) and the runway was severely damaged," Ethiopian government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse told Reuters by telephone in Nairobi.

A government statement described the targets as military, and said all Ethiopian planes returned to base. Ethiopia has previously bombed ports at Assab and Massawa.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The war began in May 1998 over disputed strips of barren border land, and tens of thousands of soldiers have been reported killed.

In fighting this month on a front southwest of the Eritrean capital, Eritrea said its forces killed, wounded or captured 18,000 Ethiopian soldiers. Ethiopia said it killed, wounded or captured more than 24,000 Eritreans.

Ethiopia said fighting on that front along the Mereb river restarted on Friday when Eritrea attacked, and continued on Saturday.

"Latest reports indicate that in the two days of fighting (since Friday) 5,590 Eritrean soldiers have been killed, captured or wounded," a fresh Ethiopian government statement said. The claim could not be verified independently.

Reports from Abudwaq and the border town of Balanballeh of Galgudud region said that an Ethiopian military delegation have toured these towns consulting with local elders and traditional leaders. According to elders contacted in Abudwaq town through the VHF field radio, the Ethiopian officers have asked them to sign a pact, allowing the Ethiopian troops to pass through those towns.

The traditional leaders said the Ethiopians did not say where they are heading to, but merely asked them to sign a document they presented which would give them the authority to deploy their troops and vehicles in Galgudud region for what is called a mere security improvement attempt.

However, the traditional leaders have refused to sign any document for the Ethiopian officers. Instead, they offered them collaboration in the security improvement efforts in the region. The local elders said the Ethiopians did not like the response they were given and left them in disapproval.

The reason why the Ethiopians are eager to deploy their forces in the central region of Galgudud is not known. However it is known that a mysterious ship loaded with various kinds of weapons and ammunitions had recently arrived at the natural port of Fah village, some 45 km southeast of central Hobyo town. The weapons and ammunitions are known to have arrived for faction leader Hussein Mohamed Aidid from the government of Eritrea which is engaged in a serious border conflict with Ethiopia.

The Ethiopians, after confronting disagreement with traditional leaders of Galgudud region, have started building up large force in Lasa Anoh village, some 80 km north of Balanballeh town close to the border. The Ethiopians are reportedly making serious military maneuver that has been explained as an attempt of invading Galgudud region. Local people are concerned over the possible human catastrophe in case the Ethiopians try to invade their towns without their consent.

The Eritrean foreign ministry said the attack started at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday on the Mereb-Setit front southwest of the Eritrean capital and continued through the day, but it gave no details of casualties.

In the last round of fighting on that front, which started on June 14, Eritrea claimed its forces killed, wounded or captured 18,000 enemy soldiers, while Ethiopia said it killed, wounded or captured 24,000 Eritreans.

It was impossible to verify either figure, but casualties have almost certainly been high in a ground and air war fought by two well-equipped armies fighting from fixed positions.

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded an immediate ceasefire, but similar calls have not been heeded.

Attempts to find a mediated solution to the war, fought over barren strips of disputed border land, have proved fruitless.

In a statement issued here, warlord Hussein Haji Bod claimed that he was appointed chairman of the Hawiye Political Committee (HPC) in Beletwein, the capital of the central Hiran region.

But Bod's remarks were dismissed by the leader of another Hawiye sub-clan, Colonel Omer Hashi Aden, as sentiments of a "greedy politician and a self-appointed leader."

Bod had said that two other sub-clan leaders -- Abdulahi Moalin Faah of the Somali Salvation Council (SSC) of Galjel and Abdulkadir Mohamed Haji "Lugadheere" of Shikal -- were elected vice chairmen in nominations that were "democratic according to tribal standard."

Bod accused the Hawadle of having tried to sabotage the conference, saying: "Hawadle leaders tried to dictate to the participants of seven major Hawiye sub-clans on the modalities of the Beletwein election, but we speeded up the process of nominations to the HPC."

Aden blamed Bod and his associates of derailing a conference that could have appointed credible leaders.

"Bod did not wait for the correct procedures to be laid down for nomination to the HPC leadership, but was motivated by greed for power and rushed to appoint himself," Aden told AFP by telephone from Beletwein.

Most feuding warlords in southern Somalia, including Hussein Mohamed Aidid, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, Osman Hassan Ali "Atto", Bod, Faah, Lugadheere, Aden and many others, hail from the Hawiye clan.

More than a dozen high-profile reconciliation conferences sponsored by the international community since 1991 have failed, but the Beletwein meeting was the longest such encounter held in Somalia.

The conference, which kicked off in October last year, managed to resolve clan animosities between Habr Gedir and Hawadle in Hiran, and Abgals and Murursade in Galgudud region, before it deadlocked as delegates were discussing politics and power-sharing, Lugadheere said.

Despite several invitations, Aidid and Ali Mahdi declined to join the Beletwein conference, which received an undisclosed sum of money from international aid agencies, describing it as "non-representative".