Reuters
10:40 a.m. Jun 22, 1998 Eastern
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Monday that Eritrea's rejection of a mediation bid last week has diminished chances of resolving their border conflict peacefully.
Fears are growing of another surge in fighting on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border after a peace effort led by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) broke down on Friday.
``The intransigent and inflexible position on the part of the Eritrean government and its latest rejection of the decision of the OAU summit has greatly diminished the chance of resolving the crisis by peaceful means,'' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The warning came as Ethiopian state television showed thousands of militiamen reporting to their units and heading to the front.
At one marshaling center in southern Ethiopia, television showed hundreds of men cleaning their assault rifles. Others sang war songs as they boarded buses destined for the disputed northern border.
Young Ethiopian men were also shown queuing for medical check-ups at registration centers throughout the country.
One volunteer interviewed by government television said he decided to fight after seeing reports of ``Eritrea's brutality in which its planes killed school children in an air raid.''
Fund-raising for the war effort is also in full-swing with a committee coordinating millions of dollars in donations to the war chest, television reported.
Ethiopian peasants were shown trekking to nearby villages to donate chicken, goats, oxen and sheep. Others brought cooked food, eggs and clothing.
Fighting first broke out on May 6 and escalated into tit-for-tat air strikes on border towns in early June before both sides agreed to a U.S.-brokered moratorium.
Thousands of troops have fought on three fronts over the 625-mile frontier, although there have been no significant battles since June 11.
Ethiopia said on Friday the moratorium on air strikes could be at risk after Eritrea accused its Horn of Africa neighbor of violating the deal. Ethiopia has canceled commercial flights to the northern province of Tigray for safety reasons.
The fears of renewed fighting were sparked by the collapse of a U.S.-Rwandan initiative on Friday promoted by three African presidents on behalf of the OAU.
The main sticking point of the four-point peace plan is its recommendation that Eritrea withdraw unconditionally from contested border areas.
Ethiopia insists this must happen before face-to-face negotiations take place. Eritrea has asked for an international observer force to be put in place first.
Italy, a former colonial power in Ethiopia and Eritrea, has said further hostilities would have a devastating impact on development and stability in the region.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also expressed grave concern at the mediation breakdown and urged both countries to ``avoid any action that could escalate the conflict and to continue working with the OAU toward a full cessation of hostilities.''
The OAU said it would continue to seek a peaceful resolution and plans to set up a committee of ambassadors to examine maps, colonial treaties and other documents in an effort to discover which country has rightful claim to the disputed border territory around the town of Badme.
Eritrea says its frontiers were set down by Italy when it occupied the area. Ethiopia says new boundaries were established when Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993.