02:04 p.m Jun 09, 1998 Eastern
By Rosalind Russell
ADIGRAT, Ethiopia, June 9 (Reuters) - Hand-to-hand fighting raged at the Ethiopian-Eritrean frontier on Tuesday.
Reuters correspondents on both sides reported intense shelling, mortar and tank fire, and saw casualties being ferried to hospitals.
Each side said the other started the day's fighting, the latest in an undeclared war between the experienced armies of two previously friendly Horn of Africa neighbours.
An Ethiopian commander not far from the battle told Reuters that the Eritreans suffered ``tremendous losses'' of men and equipment in repeated attempt to push south from Zalambessa, where a strategic highway crosses the border.
``The biggest part of the battle was small arms, hand-to-hand fighting,'' said Colonel Kiros Fetiwi. ``That is when most of the Eritreans died.''
He said the Eritreans attacked at dawn and tried four times during the day to push into Ethiopian territory but were driven back each time. Kiros gave no figures for casualties on either side but said Ethiopian troops destroyed four Eritrean tanks.
He was speaking about eight km (five miles) south of Zalambessa, an Ethiopian border town on the main road between the capital Addis Ababa, 550 km (350 miles) to the south, and the Eritrean capital Asmara, 100 km (60 miles) to the north.
Correspondents watched Ethiopian gunners firing artillery at Eritrean forces north of Zalembessa.
Artillery duels were heard from 5 a.m. in Adigrat, some 25 km (15 miles) south of Zalambessa and the last sizeable Ethiopian town before the frontier. They lasted until about 4.30 p.m. (1330 GMT).
Villages who had fled to the mountains were seen returning to their homes in late afternoon.
On the Eritrean side, journalists were stopped at Senafe, 25 km (15 miles) north of Zalambessa by soldiers who said it was too dangerous for them to go nearer the battle. The Eritreans insisted, however, that they held the upper hand.