Ethiopia dismisses Ogaden rebels’ claim of killing 450 troops

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

October 23,2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian ministry of information said rebel’s claim of deadly attack on government forces is completely a false information cooked by ONLF supporters over sees, who do not know the real situation on the ground.

Ethiopia’s Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels said further fighting with government forces in the nation’s remote east had brought the number of government soldiers killed to more than 250.

In its press release the ministry said “the claim is a cover up for the bitter defeat the group faced by government forces.” Adding that “There was not any clash between ONLF fighters and government forces.”

“It was a complete cooked up story aimed to get international media coverage and to miss inform the world as if the group still survives” It added.

The ministry further said the group doesn’t have any military strength nor the guts to confront with Ethiopian forces and the claims are deliberately done to disrupt the recent efforts, government and international organization are trying to provide humanitarian aid to the ogaden people.

Mean while ONLF today said further fighting with Ethiopian forces have raised the numbers of Ethiopian soldiers killed to 250.

“A total of 250 Ethiopian soldiers including a captain and a colonel are killed around wardheer village after a continued battle.”

Ethiopia’s premier Meles Zenawi speaking the Parlament immediately played it down saying “the ONLF claimed that they surrounded Ethiopian Army and Abay Tsehaye had to escape by helicopter but Abay Tsehaye asked me how it was possible for them to surround an entire army while he, himself was not encircled.”

Ethiopia accuses the ONLF, which is thought by analysts to number several thousand gunmen, of being terrorists supported by arch-foe and neighbor Eritrea.

The ONLF said it had surrounded a large number of Ethiopian troops, and urged them to surrender. ONLF casualties were “light given the scope of the engagements,” it added.

During the year, both sides have variously reported hundreds of deaths, and accused the other of terrorizing the population

(ST)