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Ethiopia
rebels deny suffering major losses |
Nairobi, Kenya
29
December 2007
Ethiopia's Ogaden rebels on Saturday denied
claims they had suffered heavy losses at the
hands of the government forces.
On Friday, the Ethiopian army said it had
"annihilated the remnants of the Ogaden
National Liberation Front [ONLF] that were
engaged in disrupting the peace and
stability of the Somali region".
But in a statement received by Agence
France-Press in Nairobi, the ONLF described
the claim as "wishful thinking".
"ONLF forces are largely intact, operational
and continue to be effective," it said in a
statement.
Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the
independence of ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden,
whom they say have been marginalised by
Addis Ababa.
If the regime "has inflicted significant
losses on our forces, it has no reason to
continue to deny international journalists
access to Ogaden to verify their claims",
the ONLF statement added.
Both sides have been claiming an upper hand
over the past eight months but none of the
claims have been independently verified as
journalists and aid workers have been
blocked from vast swathes of the region.
The army launched a crackdown in the region
after ONLF rebels attacked a Chinese oil
venture in April that left 77 people killed.
The barren Ogaden region has long been
extremely poor, but discovery of gas and oil
brought new hopes and have fuelled the
conflict. -- AFP
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