ONLF killed another 250 Ethio Soldiers
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:24 am
Ethiopian rebels claim killing 250 government troops
9 hours ago
NAIROBI (AFP) — Ethiopian rebels said they had killed 250 government troops in on renewed clashes in the volatile Ogaden region, where the government has been carrying our a crackdown.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) spokesman Abdirahman Mahdi said the movements's fighters on Monday killed "counted at least 250 Ethiopian troops killed" near the Wardheer and Jijiga townships.
"Our commander said they counted at least 250 Ethiopian troops killed in the fighting that lasted the whole day," Mahdi told AFP by phone from London.
"We took a lot of ammunition, guns from them and we burnt about three army trucks in the fighting," he added.
"Several of them were wounded, but it was dark and dangerous to go after them counting," he said, adding that the ONFL said also suffered "casualties."
Journalists and aid workers are blocked from visiting the area, where the army is carrying out a crackdown on the insurgents.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.
On Sunday, the ONLF said in a statement that almost 1,000 of its fighters attacked Ethiopian troops near Wardheer early Saturday, killing more than 140 of them.
Ethiopian information ministry spokesman Zemedkun Tekle denied to AFP on Sunday that the any such attack had taken place.
Mahdi said Monday's clashes flared when Ethiopia army deployed about 1,500 troops to counter-attack after its weekend losses.
"We were ready because we knew they would attack. And now we are further preparing because we know they will be stage another counter-attack," Mahdi said.
The Ethiopian army launched a crackdown on the region, about the same size as Britain with a population of about four million, following an attack by the ONLF against a Chinese oil venture in April that left 77 people dead.
Last Thursday, the UN frontline aid agency, OCHA, said Addis Ababa had allowed agencies to conduct relief operations in the region, where humanitarian workers had sounded alarm bells.
But the ONLF said the army was threatening to deny the humanitarian aid to clans that refuse to contribute militia fighters to back the army.
"The army has been going round saying it will deny food to clans that refuse to contribute fighters. That is why the ONLF fighters and the people decided to rise against the military for oppressing them and abusing them," Mahdi told AFP.
In September, a UN fact-finding panel recommended an independent probe into allegations that the army had committed human rights abuses during the army operation.
The ONLF has repeatedly warned that another "African genocide" was unfolding in the region, where it said thousands of displaced civilians had fled to neighbouring Somalia without essential supplies over recent months.
The Ethiopian army has flatly rejected the claims, and instead said its campaign is not targeting civilians, but the rebels whom it accuses of carrying out "terrorist" activities.
Addis Ababa has expelled Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee for the Red Cross from Ogaden for allegedly meddling in politics, a charge they both deny.
Authorities have imposed a trade blockade on the impoverished region since June, with few goods -- including food -- permitted into the area, according to Human Rights Watch.
The barren Ogaden region, neighbouring lawless Somalia, has long been extremely poor, but the discovery of gas and oil has brought new hopes of wealth as well as new causes of conflict.
Ethiopia accuses arch-foe Eritrea of supporting Ogaden separatists. The authorities in Asmara deny this.
Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in Ogaden, whom they say have been marginalised by Addis Ababa.
9 hours ago
NAIROBI (AFP) — Ethiopian rebels said they had killed 250 government troops in on renewed clashes in the volatile Ogaden region, where the government has been carrying our a crackdown.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) spokesman Abdirahman Mahdi said the movements's fighters on Monday killed "counted at least 250 Ethiopian troops killed" near the Wardheer and Jijiga townships.
"Our commander said they counted at least 250 Ethiopian troops killed in the fighting that lasted the whole day," Mahdi told AFP by phone from London.
"We took a lot of ammunition, guns from them and we burnt about three army trucks in the fighting," he added.
"Several of them were wounded, but it was dark and dangerous to go after them counting," he said, adding that the ONFL said also suffered "casualties."
Journalists and aid workers are blocked from visiting the area, where the army is carrying out a crackdown on the insurgents.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.
On Sunday, the ONLF said in a statement that almost 1,000 of its fighters attacked Ethiopian troops near Wardheer early Saturday, killing more than 140 of them.
Ethiopian information ministry spokesman Zemedkun Tekle denied to AFP on Sunday that the any such attack had taken place.
Mahdi said Monday's clashes flared when Ethiopia army deployed about 1,500 troops to counter-attack after its weekend losses.
"We were ready because we knew they would attack. And now we are further preparing because we know they will be stage another counter-attack," Mahdi said.
The Ethiopian army launched a crackdown on the region, about the same size as Britain with a population of about four million, following an attack by the ONLF against a Chinese oil venture in April that left 77 people dead.
Last Thursday, the UN frontline aid agency, OCHA, said Addis Ababa had allowed agencies to conduct relief operations in the region, where humanitarian workers had sounded alarm bells.
But the ONLF said the army was threatening to deny the humanitarian aid to clans that refuse to contribute militia fighters to back the army.
"The army has been going round saying it will deny food to clans that refuse to contribute fighters. That is why the ONLF fighters and the people decided to rise against the military for oppressing them and abusing them," Mahdi told AFP.
In September, a UN fact-finding panel recommended an independent probe into allegations that the army had committed human rights abuses during the army operation.
The ONLF has repeatedly warned that another "African genocide" was unfolding in the region, where it said thousands of displaced civilians had fled to neighbouring Somalia without essential supplies over recent months.
The Ethiopian army has flatly rejected the claims, and instead said its campaign is not targeting civilians, but the rebels whom it accuses of carrying out "terrorist" activities.
Addis Ababa has expelled Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee for the Red Cross from Ogaden for allegedly meddling in politics, a charge they both deny.
Authorities have imposed a trade blockade on the impoverished region since June, with few goods -- including food -- permitted into the area, according to Human Rights Watch.
The barren Ogaden region, neighbouring lawless Somalia, has long been extremely poor, but the discovery of gas and oil has brought new hopes of wealth as well as new causes of conflict.
Ethiopia accuses arch-foe Eritrea of supporting Ogaden separatists. The authorities in Asmara deny this.
Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in Ogaden, whom they say have been marginalised by Addis Ababa.
