The Ethiopian troops "victoriously repelled" attacks launched overnight Wednesday by the Eritreans, the soldiers told international reporters taken to the front over the weekend.

Asmara denies having launched any attack, acknowledging only sporadic shelling between enemy trenches as has been the general pattern along the arid patch of disputed land in the 16-month-old border war.

For its part, Asmara has refused to escort journalists to the Eritrean side of the front-line since Thursday.

With high-powered binoculars, however, one could see from the Ethiopian side, beyond the trenches, six Eritrean soldiers bearing bodies.

Amid sporadic eruptions of artillery fire and the crack of automatic weapons, the wounded Ethiopians recounted their ordeals.

"We were awaiting orders. Our riposte was not immediate. Then, with reinforcements, we could hold onto our positions," said 19-year-old Alemayehu Porche, wounded in the head by shrapnel.

Tura Suleiman, 23, said he had killed three Eritrean soldiers before being wounded by a shell.

"It was the first time they attacked on that flank, and that night there were seven waves of assault on our rear base ... all victoriously repelled," a high-ranking officer said.

"They are pulling out their dead and wounded and have laid antipersonnel mines around the area," said the officer, who requested anonymity.

The Zala Anbesa front had seen no ground fighting since June 1998. Before, Eritrean troops had raided the town of Zala Anbesa, formerly administered by Ethiopia, and the two sides had observed each other from their trenches or bunkers, occasionally launching artillery fire.

Lieutenant Yohannes Woldegiorgis, who said he took part in the fighting, said the attacks were launched by an Eritrean battalion of between 650 and 800 men and lasted until dawn on Thursday.

"At dawn, the Eritrean army lost between 90 and 100 men and counted 120 wounded," he said.

Fourteen Ethiopian casualties, including six in a serious condidtion, were transported to Adigrat, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the front, on Thursday.

On Friday, Asmara said Ethiopia's allegations were a "machination" to justify prosecuting the war despite a peace plan brokered by the Organization of African Unity (OUA) and accepted in principle by both sides.

Ethiopia said Saturday that proposals on modalities of implementing the plan did not satisfy its demands.

Eritrea has accepted the "technical arrangements," and now accuses Ethiopia of blocking the peace process.

The statement followed Ethiopia's announcement that it was not satisfied with the terms recently drafted by the Organization of African Unity for implementing a peace deal both sides had already accepted.

The Ethiopian government said in a statement on Saturday that the proposed outline for the plan's implementation contradicted the original agreement regarding Eritrea's withdrawal from areas its forces have occupied since the war started on May 6, 1998.

``Ethiopia's statement is tantamount to a declaration of war,'' the Eritrean Foreign Ministry statement said.

Eritrea on Monday urged international mediators to ``impose punitive measures'' against Ethiopia, and to demand that it accept the OAU package.

The OAU package is composed of three parts: the original 11-point proposal brokered in October, an additional seven points of clarification and a recently drafted outline for implementation.

Eritrea said that Ethiopia's position ``does not constitute a rejection of the technical arrangements alone, but of the entire OAU package,'' the ministry statement said. ``Eritrea will have no choice but to resort to legitimate acts of self defense,'' the statement warned.

The two Horn of Africa nations are fighting a war over contested areas of their 620-mile border. The OAU agreement calls for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of both countries from areas captured during the war, and for international observers to step in while a new border is delineated.

Ethiopia said that it was committed to achieving peace, but wanted better assurances that its territories would be fully returned.

Separately, religious leaders from Ethiopia and Eritrea met secretly in Norway this weekend to discuss possible war resolutions. The Muslim and Christian leaders are the only parties that had been in direct contact during the 16-month conflict, said Norwegian Church Aid, the humanitarian group that organized the talks in Hamar, 75 miles north of Oslo. ``The parties have reached agreement on important points for the further steps,'' a statement from the aid group said.

It was not immediately clear if the religious leaders' had the explicit or implied support of their countries' governments.