From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Mon Mar 09 2009 - 18:44:06 EST
Ethiopia ONLF rebels 'seize town'
Monday, 9 March 2009
Rebels in Ethiopia fighting for the independence of the Somali-speaking
Ogaden region say they have captured a town in the east of the country.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it had seized Mustahil
and was also fighting for the towns of Wardheer and Khalavo.
It said at least 80 Ethiopian soldiers had been killed.
An Ethiopian government spokesman told the BBC the reports were
absolutely false and the ONLF was on the run.
On Saturday, the Ogaden rebels said they had killed more than 20
Ethiopian troops in recent fighting, a report also denied by the
authorities in Addis Ababa.
The ONLF, founded in 1984, says the Somali-speaking population in
Ethiopia's oil-rich Ogaden region has been marginalised by Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia's military launched an offensive against the ONLF after its
fighters attacked a Chinese-run oil venture in Ogaden in 2007, killing
dozens of people, including nine Chinese nationals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7932972.stm
Map
<http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45549000/gif/_45549825_ethiopia_o
gadan226.gif>
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