Ethiopia’s ONLF denies arrest of 8 rebels
?April 1, 2008 (NAIROBI) – Ethiopia’s Ogaden rebels who carried out a raid against a Chinese-run oilfield last year denied the arrest of eight of their members in connection with that attack as it was announced by the government.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), in a statement published on Monday, dismissed the arrest, saying that the government claim intends to “divert attention from its ongoing genocide against the Ogaden people.”
The rebel statement added that all its members who participated in the last year attack are safe.
“Members that dislodged the Ethiopian army and the Exploiters from Obole are safe and not in the custody of Ethiopia.” The ONLF said.
74 people were killed in the rebel attack against a Chinese oil field in eastern Ethiopia on Tuesday April 24, 2007 — Nine Chinese workers of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB) and 65 Ethiopian. It was the first attack against a foreign company in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is not an oil-producing country. But companies such as the Chinese one and Malaysia’s state-owned oil giant Petronas have signed exploration deals.
The rebel front reiterated its determination to stop “any attempt to steal the natural resources of the Ogaden people until they institute a genuine democratic government that represents them.”
The Ogaden National Liberation Front began armed resistance against the government of Ethiopia in 1984, creating a separatist war pitting impoverished, guerrilla nomads against one of the biggest armies in Africa.
(ST)