The two nations have been deadlocked over their 1,000-km (620-mile) border since a decision by an independent boundary commission in 2002 gave the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea.

The Hague-based commission, set up as part of a peace deal ending a 1998-2000 war, "virtually" demarcated the border late last year after the two sides failed to agree on their frontier.

On Wednesday, Eritrea said it accepted the ruling and called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from Eritrean soil.

"Virtual demarcation is a legal nonsense," Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wahade Belay said in response.

"It is invalid and unacceptable ... No border demarcation is recognised unless the lines are drawn on the ground and pillars are posted based on the agreement of both Ethiopia and Eritrea."

Wahade told Reuters Eritrea should allow U.N. peacekeepers to operate freely in the Temporary Security Zone on the border, so that demarcation would be conducted on the ground.

Analysts and diplomats fear an incident along the frontier could spiral out of control and provoke a full-scale war.

Ethiopia had initially rejected the 2002 ruling. It now says it unconditionally accepts the decision, but wants more talks, which Eritrea dismisses.

Asmara has repeatedly accused Addis Ababa of planning to invade -- an allegation dismissed by Ethiopia. (Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Ethiopia rejects 'virtual' border

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008 Ethiopia has dismissed a "virtual" demarcation of its border with Eritrea, just a day after Asmara accepted the move by an independent boundary commission.

The two nations have been deadlocked in a dispute over their 1,000km border since a 2002 decision by the Hague-based commission gave the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea.

The commission, set up by a peace deal ending a 1998-2000 war, "virtually" demarcated the border late last year based on the 2002 decision after the two sides failed to come to an agreement on their shared frontier.

"Virtual demarcation is a legal nonsense," Wahade Belay, Ethiopia's foreign ministry spokesman, said on Thursday. "It is invalid and unacceptable ... No border demarcation is recognised unless the lines are drawn on the ground and pillars are posted based on the agreement of both Ethiopia and Eritrea."

Troops demand

On Wednesday, Eritrea said it accepted the ruling and called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from Eritrean soil.

"Now after five years of revolving around the basic problem, the matter has finally been resolved through a virtual demarcation of the border," a statement published in the English-language Eritrea Profile newspaper said.

Thousands of troops face each other along the disputed border.

In the statement, Eritrea said it would pursue legal measures to evict Ethiopian soldiers from territory awarded to Asmara by the 2002 ruling.

"However, if legal proceedings do not result in the appropriate outcome, then the Eritrean people have other internationally approved choices," the government-owned paper stated, without describing what those options were.

Analysts and diplomats fear an incident along the frontier could spiral out of control and provoke a full-scale war.

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