Ogaden fighting intensifies
 

   Both the Ethiopian government and Somali-backed rebels claimed gains in heavy fighting in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia
during July. It was unclear which side was gaining, but it was apparent that the Somali role in the conflict was escalating.

Ethiopia July 21 charged that Somalia was sending troops to join the rebels, who were fighting to unite Ogaden with Somalia.
Ethiopia said its troops had captured officers and "men of other ranks" of the Somali army during a major offensive to defeat
the Western Somalia Liberation Front. Somalia denied the charge July 25.

(The Western Somalia Liberation Front had reported July 18 that its forces had killed more than 700 Ethiopian soldiers and
had shot down 10 aircraft. It claimed to be near total victory in the fight for the southeastern desert region. However, there was
no independent confirmation of any reports of the fighting, and it was unclear which side had the advantage.)

Ethiopia July 24 said that Somali troops were occupying "the greater part" of Ogaden and had deployed artillery and airplanes
in the battle. It was the first official Ethiopian acknowledgement that Ogaden was in the hands of anti-government forces. The
government July 28 said the fighting had spread to the province of Bale from neighboring Harar, which comprised most of
Ogaden.

Somalia July 28 admitted that its air force was engaged in the fighting, although it continued to deny deploying ground forces. It
said its planes had downed three U.S. F-5 jets and one C-130 transport plane.Ethiopia denied the claim. (The day before,
Ethiopia had claimed the destruction of two Soviet-made Somali fighters.  It said it had downed a total of seven Somali planes.)  Heavy Ethiopian civilian casualties were reported July 31 in somali air raids over Ogaden.

(The Ogaden region had been conquered by Ethiopia from Somalia in the late 19th century. Under European colonialism, the
Somali people had been divided among Great Britain, France, Italy and Ethiopia. Britain and Italy had united their Somali
possessions to form Somalia in 1960, and French Somaliland had achieved its independence as the Republic of Djibouti in
June. Ethiopia refused to cede sovereignty over the Somali areas under its control. Somalia, seeking to unite all
Somali-speaking peoples, laid claim to Djibouti and adjoining parts of Kenya, in addition to Ogaden.

Facts on File World News Digest
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