The United States evacuated diplomatic staff from the Eritrean capital, Asmara, yesterday as Ethiopia continued its air and land assault. Ethiopian troops are now just 62 miles from Asmara.
An Ethiopian government statement claimed its army had captured Om Hajer at the western extremity of the disputed border. Air strikes on the Sawa military training base which started on Friday continued during the weekend.
Ethiopian troops have also pushed east, taking Maidima on the central front. The army claimed to have attacked a missile base at the next town, Mendefera, itself only 30 miles from Asmara.
Eritrea, which was caught off guard by the speed and ferocity of the nine-day offensive, is now characterising the attacks as an "invasion", a charge hotly contested by Ethiopia.
"For now our objective is to regain our lost territory. But their military should also be weakened. It is the only way to secure our borders," said government spokeswoman Ms Salome Tedesse.
Eritrea has described its losses so far as a "tactical retreat" but fears for Asmara are growing. The US embassy flew a chartered plane into the city yesterday and evacuated all non-essential diplomats and dependants of embassy personnel. An estimated 300 evacuees gathered at a hotel on the edge of the city. British, Canadian and Israeli nationals were expected to join in the exodus.
An embassy spokeswoman said 12 diplomats were remaining in Eritrea. The State Department urged US citizens to "depart the country while commercial transport is available".
At least 325,000 Eritrean civilians have fled their homes since the current fighting started, according to the United Nations World Food Programme. Some are being accommodated in makeshift camps while up to 20,000 have fled into neighbouring Sudan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The renewed fighting has been widely condemned by the West. Last week the UN Security Council imposed a 12-month arms embargo on both countries. However, diplomats recognise that it will have little immediate effect on the fighting as both sides have built up large arms stockpiles.
Nobody expects Eritrea, whose soldiers battled for independence for 30 years before achieving it in 1993, to continue retreating for long. "The Eritreans aren't mugs and they know how to play guerrilla tactics," said one diplomatic source.
"Everyone is expecting the counter-offensive. Then there will either be a lull period where nothing will happen or there will be an all-out bloodbath."
AFP adds: The special envoy of the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was expected to arrive in Addis Ababa yesterday in an effort to halt the fighting.
The OAU envoy, Mr Ahmed Ouyahia, representing Algerian President Abelaziz Bouteflika, was due to meet the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr Meles Zenawi.
On Saturday, a Libyan envoy arrived in Addis Ababa to discuss the conflict. The Libyan press agency said the OAU would deliver an urgent message "about ceasefire and the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Eritrea".
The EU Special Representative, Mr Rino Serri, is also due to arrive in the Ethiopian capital today for a meeting with Mr Meles.