10:14 a.m. Aug 01, 1998 Eastern
OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Organisation of African Unity opened two days of talks in Burkina Faso on Saturday aimed at resolving a border dispute which led to war earlier this year between Ethiopia and former ally Eritrea.
The OAU said on Monday it would present a report at the talks in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou after missions to both states last month which adressed border lines and who administered lands before the conflict.
Hundreds died between May 6 and June 11 when the border disagreement between the former allies flarted into an air and ground war. There have been no reports of fighting since.
The foreign ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia were due to arrive on Saturday for the latest OAU committee talks under the OAU Council of Ministers President Ablasse Oudraogo and Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim.
Current OAU Chairman and Burkina Faso President Blaise Campaore, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Djibouti's representative Mohamed Moussa Chehein were also expected to attend.
Recommendations are due to be handed to the OAU's Contact Group on the dispute and an OAU ambassador's committee which led the recent fact-finding missions.
That mission included talks on the disputed Badme and Sheraro territories with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Predident Isayas Afewerki of Etritrea.
An earlier mission included the presidents of Djibouti, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Rwanda. Rwanda has since dropped out.
Israel said on Friday it would delay upgrading Ethiopian fighter jets to avoid influencing the outcome of negotiations for a settlement.
On Tuesday, Sudan said it had driven back a three-hour artillery and tank by Eritrean fighters on its eastern border after a Sudanese official news agency quoted military sources as saying there had been a huge Eritrean military buildup there.