Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of attacking its territory

An eyewitness on the Ethiopian side, who wished to stay anonymous due to safety concerns, said: “Civilians are evacuating from the areas, where Eritrean shells are landing”.

Eritrea says the tense relations with Ethiopia are why it has national conscription, which can last for decades. Diplomats and observers have said that Ethiopia still occupies Eritrean land, a claim that Addis Ababa denies.

Residents on the Ethiopian side of the border reported hearing gunfire and seeing a large movement of troops and artillery towards the border.

The allegations come just days after the United Nations accused Eritrea of enslaving its own people through a system of military conscription.

Eritrean information minister Yemane Ghebremeskel had no immediate additional comment when asked about casualties or other details of the attack.

Eritrea disputed this account, saying Ethiopia started the fight.

Earlier, Eritrean Ministry of Information accused Ethiopia of launching the attack.

Arch-rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea traded blame Monday for a border battle in which “significant” casualties were reported, one of the worst clashes since the end of a 1998-2000 border war.

Eritrea’s “critics will argue that it is trying to divert worldwide attention away from the alleged crimes against humanity, and justifying its need for an enormous military and compulsory conscription”, King said in a brief commentary. Ethiopia’s government has said it wantstalks on implementation.Eritrea and Ethiopia routinely accuse each other of backing rebelstrying to destabilise and topple the other’s government, a legacy from the two-year war. “[The Ethiopian government] has been beating the drums of war nearly intermittently in the past weeks”.