ERITREA: US SAYS ETHIOPIA READY TO ACCEPT BORDER RECOMMENDATIONS

(4 Jun 1998) English/Nat The United States has said that Ethiopia is prepared to accept its recommendations for resolving the border dispute with Eritrea. It was not clear immediately if Eritrea had responded to Ethiopia's decision to cooperate with peace proposals advanced jointly by the U-S and Rwanda. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops have been locked in a four-week conflict for control of disputed territory about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Eritrean fighters head for the border with Ethiopia. For four weeks, these forces have been fighting with Ethiopia for control of disputed territory some 100 miles (160 km) from the Eritrean capital, Asmara. It is a border dispute that has been simmering for years and last month burst into conflict when Eritrean forces took this area -- around the town of Badme. Eritrean forces now hold the high-ground here and are keeping a keen eye on the movement of Ethiopian troops, not far from this point. The battle is about lines on the map. Eritrea has insisted that it is not occupying any Ethiopian territory. It claims its troops are on Eritrean land as determined by colonial boundaries traced by Italy when it occupied Eritrea in 1885. But Ethiopia insists Eritrea is illegally occupying its land. It also accuses Eritrea of illegally holding a 415-square kilometre (166-sq.mile) area known as the Yirga triangle in northwestern Ethiopia -- plus a half dozen smaller areas along the border. The situation in Badme when these pictures was taken was quiet. The Eritrean soldiers who took the town on May 6 were biding their time. But, elsewhere in the past few days, the fighting has continued. On Wednesday, Eritrea accused Ethiopia of using tanks and heavy artillery in an attack on the frontier village of Ambesete Geleba -- 140 kilometres (87 miles) southwest of the capital, Asmara. Hours later, Ethiopia accused Eritrean troops of attacks near two towns on the Ethiopian side of a natural border formed by the Mereb River. While Eritrea's soldiers watch and wait on the border, the U-S and Rwanda are trying to negotiate a settlement. U-S Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice, said on Thursday that Ethiopia was ready to accept a joint U-S-Rwandan proposal for ending the conflict. The proposal calls for Eritrean withdrawal from Badme to positions held before May 6; a complete demilitarisation of the disputed zone and the deployment of a small observer team. There was no word as to Eritrea's position. But all the signs are that Eritrea is prepared to go on fighting. These recent scenes in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, show ex-fighters being mobilised to return to the front. It seems that the former alliance between the two Presidents of Ethiopia and Eritrea, once rebel leaders in Ethiopia, may be consigned to history. As rebels, they succeeded seven years ago in ousting the 17-year military regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. But Ethiopia's President may be regretting the day he granted Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki self-rule. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...