Ethiopia denies involvement in attacks on Kenyan border
April 18, 2006 (NAIROBI) — The Ethiopian government has dismissed claims it is conducting invasions into the Dukana village in North Horr District in northern Kenya where over 10 people have been killed.
The Ethiopian representative to the country, Ajeba Ligaba, has claimed that rebels of Oromo Liberation Front are the ones who carried out the invasion stressing that his government has never incited killings with its neighbour Kenya.
As security forces enter into Dukana village along the Kenya-Ethiopia border to stop violence that has resulted in the death of 10 people and the theft of several livestock, Kenya and Ethiopia have already began to trade accusations. Problems began when leaders claimed that Ethiopian soldiers are the ones who began the robberies.
A Kenyan citizen in the area acused the Ethiopian government “Even our government understood that it was a conflict between communities but that is not the case. It is the Ethiopian government”.
However, Ethiopia through its official Ajeba Ligaba had a different report. They maintain the invasion was carried out by rebels of the Oromo Liberation Front who wear uniforms of the Ethiopian army.
The Ethiopian envoy told the Kenyan TV “We as the part of the Ethiopian government know that there is no any involvement from the Ethiopian side. Instead we would appreciate if the two governments particularly leaders of the border areas in the vicinity from both sides and if at the same time the parliamentarians from both sides and others come together to resolve the problem”.
Ligaba said his government only involves itself in the disputes which result from danger along the border and not theft between tribes that cross over between the countries from time to time.
Ligaba said “These are guerrilla fighters. They mix themselves with the population we cannot simply identify them very easily. So they can move from place to place with the people”.
Ethiopia defended itself when it emerged that the Kenyan government had already sent an invitation to the Ethiopian government to hold a meeting to resolve the issue.
(KTN TV/ST)