One Eritrean prisoner of war said he felt bad about fighting old comrades-in-arms but was called up by his army. "They told us the Ethiopians had taken our land and that we would fight to take it back," he said.
ASSAB, Eritrea (CNN) -- Ethiopia and Eritrea reported fighting between their armies on Thursday along a third front, this one in the vicinity of Eritrea's important Red Sea port of Assab.
The East African neighbors, warring over disputed land, accused each other of launching the latest attacks.
Fighting also continued far to the west:
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•Near the Ethiopian border town of Zala Ambessa, which the Eritreans captured last week.
•In an area of northwestern Ethiopia that is claimed by both countries. It's where the officially undeclared war broke out in early May.
CNN's Catherine Bond follows Ethiopian troops toward the fighting - (visit www.cnn.com for the QuickTime movie)
Latest fighting:
Eritrean and Ethiopian troops fought on Thursday along a road surrounded by sand dunes at the border southwest of the Eritrean port of Assab.
The Assab region is where landlocked Ethiopia's border comes closest to the Red Sea, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) away. It is the first time fighting has flared in this area.
The port town is critical for imports and exports for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, 650 kilometers (400 miles) to the southwest.
Until now, Ethiopia exported most of its coffee -- its chief foreign currency earner -- through Assab. It now uses the port of Djibouti to the south on the Gulf of Aden.
Western diplomats in Addis Ababa said Ethiopia, which was caught off guard by Eritrea's first attacks, had concentrated a large force at the Assab end of the 1,000-kilometer (625-mile) frontier between the two countries.
Ethiopian officials say their army will defend its border, not invade
"Eritrea has declared war by occupying our territory by force," said Abaye Tsehaye, a leading member of the Ethiopia's ruling People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. "Our government has reacted to this by recalling all its people in the armed forces to defend (Ethiopia's) sovereignty."
Eritrea, said Tsehaye, must "withdraw unconditionally from the areas they have occupied by force. We are not going to give up on this point."
Eritrean rebels fought Ethiopia for 30 years to gain independence. They succeeded in 1993, two years after helping Ethiopian rebels under Meles Zenawi -- who is now prime minister -- oust a 17-year military dictatorship.
Ethiopian children stopped lessons to cheer as soldiers passed by
The pockets of disputed land have been Ethiopia's since Italian colonizers drew the border more than a century ago.
Peace proposals
The fighting comes amid growing international efforts to prevent the clashes from escalating into a full-scale war.
On Wednesday, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) said a delegation of African leaders would visit Ethiopia and Eritrea on a peace mission. No date was set for the mission.
Eritrea, meanwhile, proposed that Egypt join the United States and Rwanda in attempts at mediation.
The United States and Rwanda have put forth a four-point proposal to stop the fighting and start talks.
Ethiopia accepted, but Eritrea balked, saying the plan, which suggests that Eritrea withdraw to positions it held before the fighting broke out May 6, needed more work.
Regional military sources say the plan calls for Rwanda to supply the peacekeeping forces to enforce demilitarization of disputed border regions.
The 53-nation OAU said its delegation will try to persuade both parties to agree to a cease-fire and peace talks. Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Woldetensae welcomed the proposal and said his country was willing to withdraw immediately from disputed territory.
There was no comment from his Ethiopian counterpart.
Correspondent Catherine Bond, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.