"In spite of the tremendous efforts on the part of the Eritrean government, the basic needs for food, shelter and healthcare are not being fully met in the short-term among expelled and displaced children," the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Eritrean labour and human welfare ministry report said.

The report, titled "Children in Eritrea affected by the border conflict: A psycho-social needs assessment," noted that since the war broke out in May 1998, around a quarter of a million people have been displaced, with many "exposed to shelling, bombardment and actual combat."

"To compound the difficulty, Ethiopia expelled over 60,000 people of Eritrean heritage," the report said, adding that families expelled by Ethiopia had lost all their money and possessions, and were "too numerous to be absorbed into the Eritrean economy without assistance."

But the report found: "The Eritrean social fabric has remained intact and despite hardship, the children have a secure base of attachment. Rape and violence in the camps or streets are unknown."

It noted that the deported children showed "considerable psychosocial distress," including "pervasive fear, headaches, nightmares, difficulty in concentration and inability to envision a peaceful future."

Expelled children reported that "known and trusted people had turned guns on them and their families" and had seen their parents imprisoned, while displaced children told assessment teams they had "witnessed the destruction of their homes and livestock and people killed."

The report recommended that nutritional support be given to all affected children, emergency schools created in every camp and community youth programmes expanded.

It also suggested giving support to host families and communities which were found to be "overstretched both emotionally and financially in an attempt to care for the expelled or deported."

Noting the absence of "an administrative structure to coordinate the government and other groups involved in assistance," the report said the bases of many programmes were already in place, as they were used prior to 1993 when Eritrea won its 30-year war of independence.

The building had been given to the Sudanese opposition when diplomatic relations were severed in 1995.

The daily As-Sahafa quoted Sudanese Foreign Under-Secretary Hassan Abdin as saying the Eritrean government had not replied to a Khartoum request that the embassy headquarters be handed over to the Sudanese authorities.

"Khartoum is not prepared to accept any compromise or condition in exchange for the embassy building, as it is a property of the Sudanese government," Abdin was quoted as saying.

The official underlined the need for reaching a settlement to the security problem between the two countries on which two inconclusive joint meetings were held in Asmara and Kassala, east Sudan.

He attributed cross-border incursions to failure in concluding a security agreement which he said was hindered by disagreement over border posts, but did not elaborate.

Mingled with the soil are grisly remnants of an Ethiopian offensive which failed in March: dozens of corpses, a leg still covered in Ethiopian camouflage trousers, army belts and other scraps of uniform.

The earth is red from recent rains, but dry enough now to be worked with bulldozers busy digging a new trench in anticipation of another attack.

The enemy's lines are less than 500 metres (yards) away, on the southern bank of the river Belesa, obscured by tall grass, pine thickets and dwarf acacias.

The no-man's-land is heavily mined, warned Lieutenant Yemane Welday, who stopped AFP reporters going beyond the trench.

"We are waiting for them," he added calmly.

The charred remains of about 30 Soviet-made amoured vehicles used by the Ethiopians languish all around, only hinting at the ferocity of that three-day battle in March.

According to Asmara, 64 Ethiopian armoured vehicles were put out of action and several thousand soldiers, who had been sent over to Eritrea's lines in waves, were killed.

On the top of the Ethiopian tank that made most headway, the sun-bleached skull of its driver was placed like a trophy.

A light savannah breeze does little to clear the air of the stench emanating from the remains of a few foot-soldiers.

The ground is littered with spent shells from weapons of many calibres: automatic rifles, various artillery pieces and fragments of rocket-propelled grenades.

Eritrean ration packets are scattered everywhere.

The front has been calm for several weeks except, according to the Eritrean troops, for the occasional Ethiopian mortar shell.

Always with an eye on the enemy positions, these troops play cards, do their washing, listen to the radio or take naps under makeshift shelters.

"I will stay on the front until peace is signed," enthused Kedija Saliah, 17, stationed by a tree trunk facing the Ethiopian lines, an AK-47 at his feet.

"I have already two brothers on the front and I volunteered," he added in English.

On the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) frontier, Tsorona controls the easiest and quickest access point to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the north.

There too, the talk is of an impending attack.

"Ethiopia is stalling to buy time to launch a large-scale offensive," Foreign Ministry Secretary General Tesfai Ghernazien told AFP on Thursday.

"For Ethiopia, it's no longer a border issue, it has never been," he said, noting that Addis Ababa, unlike Asmara, has not accepted the latest instrument of a peace deal brokered by the Organisation of African Unity.

"The issue is crushing the Eritrean supremacy in the region" and installing a regime favourable to Addis Ababa, "a puppet regime."

The Ethiopians "will not succeed in crushing the Eritrean army, they are not going to overrun our defense forces. We have better fighters, better trained, more motivated and, furthermore, they have a cause: they are defending their country," said Tesfai.

Ignited in May 1998, the conflict has been on hold since July, mainly because of the rainy season.

"If war breaks out now, it will be more disastrous," said Tesfai, noting that an unprecedented 500,000 to 600,000 troops from both sides were stationed along the border.

"We won't make the first strike," he insisted.

A few kilometers behind the Tsorona line, rocky peaks hide pillboxes and tanks, well-camouflaged under branches or tarpaulins.

A little further away, young recruits continue their training, assault rifles or RPG launchers on their shoulders.