Ogaden’s ONLF rebels accused of killing civilians in southern Ethiopia
(JT) A group of Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels ambushed a convoy killing two Somali civilians in Ethiopia and seriously wounding several others, according to Hargeisa media SomalilandPress.com
The report said the victims were traders with Somaliland origins, going toward the Gashamo town in the Degehabur Zone of southeastern Ethiopia when they were attacked. The zone is bounded by the semiautonomous Somaliland region of Somalia whose Isaaq clan lives along both sides of the border.
The report said this incident was not the first time the ONLF killed Somalilanders in Ethiopia and the wounded are in stable condition in a hospital.
Somaliland and ONLF have a long history of hostility.
ONLF’s branch organization Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC), which seeks the secession of Ogaden from Ethiopia, has long accused Somaliland officials of collaborating with the Ethiopian government. Hargeisa has made agreements with Addis Ababa to strengthen security along its borders with Ethiopia.
The ONLF and OHRC assert that Ethiopia is denying economic development for the people of Ogaden. They say Ethiopia is colonizing the Ogaden region and committing human rights abuses.
ONLF has also been accused by local Somalis of laying mines, burning villages, attacking development projects and intimidating Somalis who do not support its cause. The London-based ONLF leadership has in turn accused Ethiopian authorities of detaining civilians, threatening rebel sympathizers, blocking food aid and committing war crimes in the region.
Oil exploration
The ONLF fighters oppose exploration for Oil by Ethiopian authorities and foreign companies. After ONLF killed 74 Ethiopian and Chinese Oil workers in 2007, it accused the Ethiopian government of committing genocide.
It has since warned all international Oil corporations, including the Malaysian Petronas company, from making any deals with Addis Ababa. According to Reuters, ONLF recently blamed multinational oil corporations for allegedly financing criminal activities in the Ogaden. In a press release, ONLF and OHRC said Oil companies exacerbate the human rights situation, adding that “Somali people in the Ogaden have never accepted the Ethiopian occupation of their country” and all “oil and other mineral exploration activities in Ogaden” are illegal.
Since the 1990s, ONLF and the Ethiopian government were engaged in several peace talks led by local Somali elders but all the efforts have been unsuccessful. The organization wants a referendum for separation of the Ogaden region from Ethiopia.
