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Rebels say
killed 215 Ethiopian troops, govt denies |
ADDIS
ABABA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Ethiopia on
Monday rebuffed a separatist rebel group's
claim it had killed 215 government soldiers
in fighting this week in the eastern Ogaden
region.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
said on Sunday it had killed the soldiers in
battles in Galaalshe in the Fik zone of
Ogaden that have been going on since
Thursday.
"A claim that ONLF attacked and killed 215
Ethiopian soldiers ... is pure fabrication
and a figment of imagination by their
supporters in Europe," Information Minister
Berhan Hailu told Reuters.
The desolate region, mostly home to
wandering herders, grabbed international
attention in April when ONLF rebels who are
fighting for greater autonomy attacked a
Chinese-run oil exploration field and killed
74 people.
The rebel group has accused the government
of human rights abuses in its military
clampdown on insurgents, which rights
watchdogs have criticised.
ONLF said that fighting was still going on
and that they had seized 55 firearms.
"An unconfirmed number of enemy troops have
been wounded. Four military transport
vehicles destroyed. Ethiopian helicopters
have been used to transport wounded troops
out of the area during the past few days,"
the rebel group said.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government has
regularly denied ONLF reports of mass
casualties as propaganda from its foreign
supporters. It has itself reported many
deaths on the rebel side during its
offensive against them this year.
Both sides routinely report inflictions of
large casualties.
No independent confirmations of casualties
are possible since the region is largely
inaccessible to foreign journalists and is
also often out of reach for aid workers, who
are closely monitored. (Reporting by Tsegaye
Tadesse; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
@ Reuters 2007 All rights reserved |
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