Ogaden rebels say Ethiopia behind explosions in Jijiga

August 5, 2007 — Today’s attack on a Jijiga market and Church represent a despicable act of desperation by cronies of the Ethiopian regime tasked with misrepresenting the just struggle of the people of Ogaden. Similar to the deliberate attack by the regime on the leadership and staff of the Ogaden Welfare & Development Association (OWDA) last week, this latest attack serves no political purpose other than to seek to justify continued war crimes against our people.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) strongly condemns this act of cowardice targeting our civilian population in Jijiga. We particularly condemn the deliberate targeting of a place of worship to further a sinister political objective aimed at deceiving the international community.

These attacks confirm that the Ethiopian regime will support any act which they perceive will give them cover for continuing war crimes in Ogaden.

We reiterate our call for immediate international intervention in Ogaden before the situation deteriorates further.