From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Mon Jul 06 2009 - 16:20:59 EDT
Government, rebels echo claims of victory
July 06 2009 at 06:21PM
Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian government and a rebel group both claimed
victory after weekend clashes in the east of the country, but there was
no way to verify either side's claims because of severe restrictions on
reporting from the region.
Ethiopian Communication Minister Bereket Simon said on Monday the
government had captured 60 men he described as "terrorists" trying to
cross the border with Somalia, which is being riven by an Islamic
insurgency. Bereket said there were two clashes and the rebels were
defeated. He declined to provide details of the fighting.
In e-mails purportedly from the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the
group said they had killed 90 government troops and injured 100 others.
The e-mails described battles over three days, including a number of
wounded and injured in each encounter and the equipment captured. They
also accused the government of executing a girl and five teenagers in
the village of Kebridehar.
The e-mails also said the rebels had killed several army officers near
Shilabo, 650km east of the capital of Addis Ababa. They said fighting
was ongoing.
The rebels have been fighting for over a decade for greater autonomy for
eastern Ethiopia, which is ethnically Somali. The government accuses the
rebels of being terrorists funded by its archenemy Eritrea. In 2007, the
group killed 74 workers at a Chinese-owned oil field.
The Ethiopian government is a firm ally of the United States, which sees
it as a bulwark against al-Qaeda-linked Islamic fighters in Somalia. But
the Ethiopian government is regularly criticised by the United States
for severe human rights abuses.
Verifying information from the Ogaden region is extremely difficult. The
area is large, remote, difficult to navigate and certain areas,
including the area in which the attack allegedly occurred, are under
military occupation. - Sapa-AP
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Africa
<http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Africa&set_id=1&click_id=68
&art_id=nw20090706180756975C257976>
&set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20090706180756975C257976
<http://www.somalilandtimes.net/sl/2007/290/ogaden_region_map.jpg>
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----
