United Nations - Eritrea said late last night it had accepted a plea from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to pull its forces back to positions they held before war first broke out with Ethiopia in 1998. In a statement received at the UN, the foreign ministry in Asmara said "Eritrea has decided, for the sake of peace, to accept the OAU's appeal for de-escalation".
The UN secretary general, Mr Kofi Annan, welcomed the news in a statement which urged Ethiopia "also to respond positively to the OAU appeal in order to bring about an immediate end to hostilities".