Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 17, 2011(ADDIS ABABA) – An Ethiopian rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has alleged government forces killed 100 civilians in the Somali region of southeastern Ethiopia, in a week-long military operation.
“The Ethiopian army and its local conscripts conducted kill-on-sight operations on civilians in the areas of Fafan valley between Babili and Dhegahbur in Ogaden, the army killed 100 civilians from 10 to 15 May in the area. The operation is still ongoing.’’ The group that fights seeking the region’s independence from Ethiopia said in a statement on Monday.
The group also said the Ethiopian Army is responsible for the fatal attack on a UN monitoring mission in the region last week. World Food Programme on Saturday confirmed the killing of one of its employee by unknown gun men, another injured and two still remain missing on Friday’s ambush.
“The (ONLF) intelligence service has ascertained that the Ethiopian army conducted the killing and abduction of U.N. local staff in the Ogaden jointly with the notorious militia of the local Somali administration,” it said.
The claims by the rebel group could not be independently verified as foreign journalists have no access to the troubled Ogaden region.
Government officials could not be reached for comments today, however Addis Ababa has often rejected the rebels claims, saying it is only aimed to attract international attention by creating a false atmosphere of crisis in the region.
Last year the Ethiopian government signed a peace deal with a breakaway faction which claims to be the main body of the ONLF. The peace pact led to the pardon and release of over 100 ONLF rebels.
The ONLF rebel group was responsible for an attack on a Chinese-run oil venture in 2007 which killing 74 people including nine Chinese working for the Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration company.
(ST)
henok
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
ONLF,
Ethiopia carefully knows the situation you are in. Your feeders are all gone one by one. The Eritrean old jackal was given a stern warning, and it seems that it is heeding this clarion call.Osama Bin Laden the, the big source of your fund is also gone.
So what is causing you to wranggle your tail is apathy. You do not seem to know what is awaiting you at the hand of the mighty Ethiopian Defese Force. have some patience and you will moan further.
kidist777
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
If you remember guys on April 24, 2007, ONLF killed sixty-five Ethiopians and nine Chines oil workers and the ONLF spokesperson, Mr. Abdirahman Mahadi claimed responsibility for the atrocities committed on civilians from his office in London.
I always wonder why the British government allowed the terrorists to have office in its capital city. Is the British government harboring terrorists?.
henok
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Kidist777,
You posed a good question. But know that America and Uk are becoming the prime harbours of terrorists. A number of the Al-shabab members are coming from the US and UK. So are those joining Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
So it is no wonder that UK gives a deaf ear to the call to handover those ONLF figures spearheading ONLF.
Intifada
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Tefsa I find you misinformed usually on the Ogaden however blame should not be leveled against you because the Ethiopian government has created an atmosphere where practically little information can be extracted from Ogaden as the media, human rights groups, NGOs and the wider international community have effectively been blocked from accessing the Ogaden even the Red Cross an organisation known for its impartiality in conflict has been expelled from the Ogaden by the Meles minority dictatorship.
One fallacy you continue to repeat in your articles is the issue of ONLF breaking into two factions.The ONLF continues to exist with its full 51 member central committee and its upper cabinet, they also have command of all the rebels on the ground.The group you and other outlets mention is lead by Mr.Maow whom Ethiopia utilized to create a purported ONLF wing to damage ONLF politically and create confusion around its structure and core supporters.Mr Maow was once an ONLF member however he was expelled from the group along with another senior member Dr.Dolaal who was killed by Ethiopian troops some years ago.The so-called peace deal was a political maneuver by Ethiopia using Mr.maow and some diaspora dwellers to create the appearance that it was negotiating with an ONLF faction.Wheres the peace and where has that faction disappeared to?
I would advice you to seek the truth as journalist.
Intifada
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Kidist what rubbish you utter, Oil groups were warned by the ONLF dozens of time not to deal or engage in contracts with a government that has been uprooting and committing serious human rights violations against the civilian population of the Ogaden which amount to crimes against humanity.They ignored the calls, The land was cleared of the people by the Ethiopian military for exploration to begin and the exploration site was heavily guarded by the Ethiopian military from there.The ONLF attacked the site as it was clearly an effort by military government of Zenawi to extract resources without the consent of the people whilst continuing to deny them there basic human and political rights.You don’t need to be a astrophysicist to work out what the dictatorial government intended to do with the resources collected from the Ogaden, it would have further reinforced the rule of a violent dictatorship.The Oil groups intended to use the brute force of the government to exploit the resources of the land hence they are liable for any deaths that occurred to there workers.Thousands have been killed in order to satisfy the conditions for such companies, the terrorists are quite clear Multinationals and Zenawi.Massacres and human rights violation should not be taking place side by side with oil exploration, Africa remains in a desperate and precarious situation because of such conditions.The ONLF represents legitimate grievances of the people in the Ogaden and until such grievance is not met then all political, economic and military aggression from the Zenawi dictatorship will be met with violent opposition.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”
Intifada
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Kidist what rubbish you utter, Oil groups were warned by the ONLF dozens of times not to deal or engage in contracts with a government that has been uprooting and committing serious human rights violations against the civilian population of the Ogaden which amount to crimes against humanity.They ignored the calls, The land was cleared of the people by the Ethiopian military for exploration to begin and the exploration site was heavily guarded by the Ethiopian military from there onwards.The ONLF attacked the site as it was clearly an effort by military government of Zenawi to extract resources without the consent of the people whilst continuing to deny them there basic human and political rights.You don’t need to be a astrophysicist to work out what the dictatorial government intended to do with the resources collected from the Ogaden, it would have further reinforced the rule of a violent dictatorship.The Oil groups intended to use the brute force of the government to exploit the resources of the land hence they are liable for any deaths that occurred to there workers.Thousands have been killed in order to satisfy the conditions for such companies, the terrorists are quite clear Multinationals and Zenawi.Massacres and human rights violation should not be taking place side by side with oil exploration, Africa remains in a desperate and precarious situation because of such conditions.The ONLF represents legitimate grievances of the people in the Ogaden and until such grievance is not met then all political, economic and military aggression from the Zenawi dictatorship will be met with violent opposition.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”
Intifada
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Whats stopping the Hague from pursuing Meles Zenawi and his cohorts for war crimes and crimes against humanity? The ONLF is not recognized as a terrorist organisation by any states even those who consider Ethiopia a key ally such as the U.K and the U.S because these nations are well informed both publicly and privately in regards to the nature of the Ethiopian governments conduct in the Ogaden and those of the ONLF.The ONLF is a movement seeking basic rights for the Ogaden as are most Ethiopians against the violent dictatorship of Meles Zenawi.
seyoum777
Ogaden Rebels allege Ethiopian army killed 100 civilians and UN worker
Conspiracy Theory 101
1. Allow Africans relief assistance in the form of food, and medicine, which will not alleviate their chronic economic problems but address the temporary issues. As much as possible development aids which can bring about strategic transformation to the African Economy should not be given. Request for aids and loans for infrastructures like roads, and dams should be turned down.
2. Impose the policies of lending institution on the sovereign governments of Africa with the intension of keeping the continent dependent for years to come.
3. Develop policies and strategies and implement same to maintain brain drain from Africa. Inculcate in the mind of the Diaspora elite their continent is a hopeless case and will remain dark for years to come and going back is unadvisable. Entice the Diaspora to lead the Wester way of life by giving them whatever they need on credit basis repayable over a number of years such that they will not have excess money to invest in their mother land. Create a disagreement between the Diaspora intellectuals and those intellectuals who chose to stay in their mother land and contribute to the development efforts, such that the two groups will not have a common agenda of nation building.
4. Influence the curriculum of academic institutions such that such institutions will not be able to produce visionary and innovative minds. Make sure some former colonizer language is used as a medium of instruction in the school, colleges and universities of Africa. So that under the guise of scholarship the best students of Africa will be taken and after giving them the necessary subtle brainwashing and training and are lured to stay in the West. (Pls note all developed nations teach their students in their national language. Imagine the challenges our students face in our schools and colleges today. Where I live, speaking some foreign language is a sign of being educated. Please note the extent to which we have been deceived. Almost all gradates from our universities and colleges nowadays copy from the internet for their graduation paper, for they have note been prepared for critical analysis and they don’t adequately know the language to express their thoughts).
5. If some how a visionary leader emerges and sees through the machinations and decides to bring about a change, he will be heading towards a head on collusion with the interest of the neo-colonialist. Hence, wage a smear campaign against this leader or leaders through the main stream medias, like the BBC, CNN and VOA. Call him names like: dictator, tyrant….etc. Incite mass protest by organizing tugs and accuse the leader for shooting civilians. If the leader resists, then accuse him of genocide against humanity and take his case to ICC.
6. Establish a foreign language service in the mainstream media like the BBC, DW and the VOA and propagate against any government that stands in the way of the interest of the West. Use these medias to defame visionary leaders of Africa and accuse them of human right abuse and violation of the free press.
7. Protect and fund the private press and sometimes give the owners of these presses awards in the form of money and token gifts.
8. Establish and fund organizations like the Human Right Watch, Amnesty International and the CPJ and accuse visionary leaders of Africa and obstruct their quest to free Africa from age old backwardness and poverty.
9. Spread to the continent endemics like Ebola, Aids… etc in order to check the ever growing population of Africa. (Pls note. Don’t you ever wander why the endemic Aids which started in the United States ended up becoming the major health problem of Africans. Pls also recall, after the European colonizers occupied the Americas they exterminated the native Indians by distributing to them blankets infested with small pox and T.B.)
10. Advocate multi party system in Africa. The intension here is not to promote democracy but to put in power a party that is subservient to the West. The puppet party shall be given political and money support. Allow personal gifts to party leader(s) and for the seemingly bright ones provide a scholarship in one of the prestigious universities of the West. Encourage the employment of dissidents in international organizations, preferable in humanitarian and main steam medias.
11. Incite racial hatred by pitting one against the other. Keep the continent in perpetual conflict with itself. So that Africa will remain a store house of rich natural resources waiting to be explored by the neo-colonialist, a cheap labor source for their mechanized plantations and mineral fields. (Pls note. This is the 21st century they don’t have to chain Africans slaves and forcefully transport them. We pay our own hard earned money for the plane ticket that will take us to Western cities).
Africa Wake up. Stop the infighting. Solve all you internal problem by dialogue and by your own traditional means. Don’t look to the West for arbitration lest you would fail in their snare. Africa needs more than ever the coming together of its sons and daughters irrespective of religion, and ethnicity, towards creating a continent that is free of poverty and equal opportunity for its citizens.
This is my observation which I dare to put it in the form of conspiracy theory. Most of us are victims of the Western machination. I wish I am wrong.
Seyoum Wubshet, Addis Ababa Ethiopia