The government denied, however, Eritrean claims Sunday that the fresh wave of fighting was launched by Ethiopia over the weekend involving ground forces and jet fighters on the Tsorona front, some 30 km to the east of the Zalambessa border front.

Government spokesperson, Ms. Selome Tadesse, told reporters that "skirmishes" broke out Sunday between the two sides on the Zalambessa-Egela (Tsorona) front. "The skirmishes later developed into full-fledged fighting," she said. She confirmed that the fighting was continuing by mid-morning Monday.

Selome also denied Eritrean claims of shooting down an Ethiopian Mig-23 jet fighter, and destroying 19 tanks and capturing two others on the Tsorona front during Saturday-Sunday engagements.

"This is ridiculous," she said. "Don't expect us to react every time the Eritrean regime comes up with ridiculous claims for its home consumption," she added.

Selome asserted that Eritrea had been making "wild claims" ever since its "ignominious defeat" at the Badme front on 26 February. She stated that Eritrea "must come to terms" with giving up Ethiopian territory it still occupies and concentrate on "implementing" the OAU peace plan on resolving the border dispute, which it said it had accepted on 27 February.

She reiterated that Ethiopia wants to see Eritrea withdraw its forces and its acceptance of the status quo ante in full, before negotiations for cease-fire and redeployment of troops from border areas begin, as stipulated in the OAU peace plan.

Meanwhile, the state television aired Sunday night an hour-long documentary showing Eritrean forces "invasion" of the Badme front in early May 1998 and its "liberation" last month.

The television report presented film footages on the voluntary mobilisation of youth, their military training and deployment at the Badme front along with the regular army.

"The fighting is still continuing," Eritrean presidential chief of staff Yemane Ghebremeskel told AFP in Nairobi by telephone from Asmara at 4:30 p.m. (1330 GMT).

"It started at 8:30 this morning, but we still don't know the outcome," Ghebremeskel said.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopian government spokeswoman Salome Tadesse earlier said the battle was "fierce."

The Eritrean foreign ministry earlier said Eritrean forces had shot down an Ethiopian MiG-23 fighter plane and destroyed 19 tanks -- a claim Tadesse dismissed as "a complete lie."

Asmara said Ethiopia launched a large-scale offensive on the central front on Sunday, preceded by aerial and artillery bombardments on Saturday afternoon, after a week-long lull.

Ethiopian authorities at first downplayed the military exchanges as "skirmishes", but later acknowledged that the clashes had developed into fighting.

"Fierce fighting at the Zala Anbessa-Egala front continues today," Tadesse told AFP Monday morning.

The Eritrean ministry said the Ethiopians suffered heavy troop losses in the fighting on the central front near Tsorona, in a statement dated Sunday and received by AFP in Nairobi on Monday.

The two localities are close, but separated by steep hills.

The Eritrean statement said Ethiopia pressed home its offensive Sunday with heavy artillery, tanks and warplanes, and with the help of mercenary pilots.

For more than a week, the various fronts had been quiet, after both sides had agreed to a peace plan designed by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

Asmara and Addis Ababa had instead launched a war of words on the interpretation of the peace plan.

Ethiopia is demanding that Eritrea withdraw "unilaterally and unconditionally from remaining Ethiopian territory" before the plan goes into effect.

Eritrea on Saturday dismissed that demand as "ludicrous."

"It is nowhere to be found in the Organisation of African Unity Framework Agreement and they cannot add elements to the plan at this stage," the official ERINA news agency said.

Ethiopia claims that such a retreat is in "the letter and the spirit of the OAU peace plan."

The two sides first went to war last May when Eritrean troops rolled into Badme, on the western front, Zala Anbessa, on the central front, and several other border zones.

The fighting died down after five weeks as diplomatic efforts took over, but resumed on February 6 after they proved fruitless.

The OAU plan, presented last November, and accepted then by Ethiopia, provides for a ceasefire, demilitarisation of the border, the deployment of peacekeepers and observers, and neutral demarcation of the ill-defined frontier.

Eritrea accepted the plan at the end of February after having baulked at one of its conditions, the withdrawal from the Badme region, before that was brought about by force of arms. The fighting left thousands dead, both sides said.

Ethiopia claimed "total victory" at Badme and Eritrea conceded that its troops had withdrawn to establish new defence lines.

Ethiopian television on Sunday screened footage of the Badme battle for the first time, showing heavy fighting, with infantry advances on highland terrain and the use of BM21 multiple rocket-launchers known as "Stalin's organs".

Independent sources on Monday told AFP that the zone was "infested" with anti-personnel, anti-vehicle and anti-tank mines which had been laid by Eritrean troops.

One source said "the presence of these mines the return of civilian populations and living conditions more difficult", while several stated that a number of people had already become casualties of the devices.

Ethiopia on Friday charged that Eritrea's acceptance of the OAU plan was "bogus, tactical and designed to buy time."

Eritrea said Friday it was willing to withdraw from all contested zones, but only under a general demilitarisation of the frontier as envisaged in the OAU plan, which implies that both sides must pull back.

Eritrea, which bases its position on Italian colonial-era treaties and maps, accuses Ethiopia of sparking border conflict by occupying part of the Bada region on the eastern front in July 1997, and publishing "an illegal map" the same year which included Eritrean territory in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.

Ethiopia acknowledged on Monday that the conflict had resumed, just a day after denying that it had launched a major offensive.

Eritrea said it had shot down an Ethiopian MiG-23 fighter and destroyed 19 tanks in the latest fighting.

The latest fighting is centred 100km south of Asmara]>The latest fighting is centred 100km south of AsmaraThe Eritrean foreign ministry also said its forces had inflicted "heavy human losses" on Ethiopian troops.

Ethiopia dismissed the Eritrean claims as "a pure lie". A government spokeswoman, Salome Tadesse, challenged the Eritreans to produce evidence.

She said: "This is a ruse aimed at uplifting the fallen morale of the Eritrean forces and people at large."

The renewed fighting, which began on Sunday morning, has centred in Zalambessa-Egela and the Tsorona flank of the frontline, 100km south of the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

The clashes were described by an Eritrean presidential official as "very intense".

The BBC's Alex Last: The fighting goes on. Journalists have not been allowed to visit the Tsorona front to verify any of the claims.

Tsorona commands access to the strategic Hazemo plain, which runs some 60km inside southern Eritrea, ending just 35km from Eritrea's capital, Asmara.

Uneasy lull

The resumption in fighting followed an uneasy two-week pause in which both countries exchanged terse statements questioning each other's commitment to the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) peace plan to end their 10-month war.

Ethiopia gained what both sides have called a "costly" victory in February, when its troops broke through front lines at the western Badme front.

After his forces retreated, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accepted the negotiation framework proposed by the OAU in November.

Ceasefire demands

The Eritrean Government has said it is willing to implement an immediate ceasefire.

In a televised interview on Saturday night - his first appearance for weeks - President Afwerki told his people: "This war should finish now."

Ethiopia has yet to agree to lay down its arms, insisting on unilateral Eritrean withdrawal from all areas in dispute.

"We have made our position very clear," Ms Tadesse told the BBC on Sunday.

"We have always demanded an unconditional withdrawal from our territory before we can talk about demilitarisation or a ceasefire. That was the case nine months ago, that is the case today," she said.

The Eritreans have refused, pointing out that the peace framework calls on both sides to withdraw from the other's territory.

The conflict had initially flared over the issue of sovereignty of the Badme area, which lies on Eritrea's south-western border with Ethiopia.

In Asmara, the Eritrean foreign ministry said Eritrean forces had shot down an Ethiopian MiG-23 fighter plane and destroyed 19 tanks -- a claim Tadesse dismissed as "a complete lie."

Asmara said Ethiopia launched a large-scale offensive on the central front on Sunday, preceded by two hours of aerial and artillery bombardments on Saturday afternoon, after a week-long lull.

Ethiopian authorities at first downplayed the latest military exchanges as "skirmishes", but acknowledged later Sunday that the clashes had developed into fighting.

"Fierce fighting at the Zala Anbessa-Egala front continues today," Tadesse told AFP on Monday.

The Eritrean ministry said the Ethiopian side suffered heavy troop losses in the fighting on the central front near Tsorona, in a statement dated Sunday and received by AFP in Nairobi on Monday.

However, the statement said that Ethiopia pressed home its offensive Sunday with heavy artillery, tanks and warplanes, and with the help of mercenary pilots.

For more than a week, the various fronts in the border conflict had been quiet, after both sides had agreed to a peace plan designed by the Organisation for African Unity (OAU).

The two capitals, Asmara and Addis Ababa, had instead launched a war of words on the interpretation of the peace plan.

Ethiopia is demanding that Eritrea withdraw "unilaterally and unconditionally from remaining Ethiopian territory" before the plan goes into effect.

Eritrea on Saturday dismissed that demand as "ludicrous."

"It is nowhere to be found in the Organisation of African Unity Framework Agreement and they cannot add elements to the plan at this stage," the official ERINA news agency said.

Ethiopia, claims that such a retreat is in "the letter and the spirit of the OAU peace plan."

The two sides first went to war last May when Eritrean troops rolled into Badme, on the western front, Zala Anbessa, on the central front, and several other zones along the border.

The fighting died down last year after five weeks as diplomatic efforts took over, but resumed on February 6 after they proved fruitless.

The OAU peace plan, presented last November, and accepted then by Ethiopia, provides for a ceasefire, demilitarisation of the border, the deployment of peacekeepers and observers, and neutral demarcation of the ill-defined frontier.

Eritrea accepted the plan at the end of February after having baulked at one of its conditions, the withdrawal from the Badme region, before that was brought about by force of arms. The fighting left thousands dead, both sides said.

Ethiopia claimed "total victory" on the Badme front, and Eritrea conceded that its troops had withdrawn to establish new defence lines.

Ethiopian television on Sunday screened footage of the Badme fighting for the first time, showing heavy fighting, with infantry advances on highland terrain and the use of BM21 multiple rocket-launchers known as "Stalin's organs".

Ethiopia on Friday charged that Eritrea's acceptance of the OAU plan was "bogus, tactical and designed to buy time."

Eritrea said Friday it was willing to withdraw from all the contested zones, but only under a general demilitarisation of the frontier as envisaged in the OAU plan, which implies that both sides must pull back.

Eritrea, which bases its position on Italian colonial-era treaties and maps, accuses Ethiopia of sparking the border conflict by occupying an area of the Bada region on the eastern front in July 1997, and publishing "an illegal map" the same year that included Eritrean territory in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.

On Sunday, March 14, skirmishes broke out between the Eritrean and Ethiopian defense forces at the Zalambessa-Egela front. The skirmishes later developed into fighting between the two sides. Fighting at the front continues today.

Issaias Afewerki's troops have been occupying Ethiopian territories in the Zalambessa-Aiga, Bada-Bure and Egela regions for over nine months since they first invaded Ethiopia's sovereignty in May 1998. Ethiopian citizens residing in these areas have had to endure over 300 days of Eritrean occupation. Issaias' troops have remained in these Ethiopian territories in violation of the OAU Framework Agreement for peace.

ENDS

Background

A statement from the Eritrean foreign ministry said Ethiopia had also suffered ``heavy human losses'' after launching a new offensive on the Tsorona front on Sunday.

Ethiopia has denied starting a new offensive and on Monday described the latest clashes as skirmishes which ``developed into fighting.''

Government spokeswoman Selome Taddesse told Reuters that the claim of an Ethiopian aircraft being shot down was ``a pure lie'' and she challenged the Eritreans to produce evidence.

``This is a ruse aimed at uplifting the fallen morale of the the Eritrean forces and people at large,'' she said.

The conflict between the two Horn of Africa neighbours --which broke out again on February 6 after an uneasy lull of some months -- has continued despite Eritrea's acceptance late in February of an Organisation of African Unity (OAU) peace plan.

Ethiopia announced its acceptance of the plan last year.

"The latest batch of Ethiopian refugees fled Eritrea because of the recent incidents between Eritrea and Ethiopia," the daily said, referring to the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia which has driven a large number of refugees into Sudan.

Al-Anbaa quoted the refugees as saying they had to leave because of the harsh treatment they had received from the Eritrean authorities.

"Some of them said the Eritrean authorities expelled them from their land and beat others to death," the newspaper said, but gave no casualty figures. It said the refugees had asked the Sudanese authorities to repatriate them to Ethiopia.

Sudan hosts the second largest number of refugees in Africa after Guinea - which has tens of thousands from neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia - according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in December.

A UNHCR fact sheet said Sudan had 390,000 refugees, well below Khartoum government estimates of more than one million, mostly from neighbouring Eritrea and Ethiopia.