Ethiopian rebels offer govt talks on Ogaden region

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 19, 2005 (AP) — A separatist group offered Tuesday to open peace talks with the government in an effort to end a low-level conflict in the lawless Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front – that has fought to make the region an independent state for the Somali ethnic majority there – wants the talks to be held in a neutral country, with the help of an international mediator.

The offer comes after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi exchanged letters with Ogaden’s community and clan elders in a bid to secure peace in the impoverished, desert-like region.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front claims to represent ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia, and makes occasional hit-and-run attacks against government troops in Ogaden.