Ethiopia, Kenyan forces joined in offense against Oromo rebels
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
November 6, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian and Kenyan security forces launched a joint military attack against Ethiopia’s Oromo rebels based inside Kenya near the east African countries joint border, according to reports by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.
During the attacks two security officers are reported to have been injured and are undergoing treatment at the Forces Memorial hospital in Nairobi.
Eastern Provincial Commissioner, Claire Omolo, said six members of the militia group have been arrested.
According to the Kenyan official, an assortment of firearms including four AK.47 assault rifles, 90 rounds of ammunition and 17 grenades have been recovered from the Oromo rebels.
The Commissioner said the joint operation will continue until all the Oromo Liberation Front rebels flush out.
Kenyan authorities said the operation is aimed to wipe-out the rebel group who were hiding in the expansive rangeland of Marsabit County.
The role of the Ethiopian security forces is to guard the border to prevent the rebels from escaping back into Ethiopia, the report said.
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is a political organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to fight against what they describe as “Ethiopia colonial rule” and descrimination against the Oromo ethnic group.
The rebel group has long been designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government.
(ST)
Yaadasaa Dafaa
Ethiopia, Kenyan forces joined in offense against Oromo rebels
Dear all,
OLF is the flesh and blood of the Oromo people. It is not possible for any entity to flush out a Nation that is the Oromo people’s size. It was/is being tired by the enemies of the Oromo Nation with frustration, anger and despair, as they failed time and time again to eradicate the Nation of Oromia.
Please allow me to give you a very short summary (as an ordinary an Oromo American) how the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was/is conceptualized:
The Abyssinian regimes colonized the Oromo Nation during the late era of the African colonization with the help from the Europeans and their modern arms. Now, the Oromo Nationalists said enough is enough and it is the appropriate time to liberate Oromiya from the foreigners. So, to deliberate on this liberation journey, they understood the need for the unity of the Oromo nationalists to be fundamental, the need for a visionary organization, with for clear political line, a clear objective, unwaivering political nationalism, and a deliberate full national consciousness. And so, they united. They organized the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Then they adopted a political program for the decolonization journey.
The OLF political program states in clearly sweeping, precise, and unequivocal terms that Oromiya is a colony. That being a colony, it is entitled to be free and independent from the colonial occupation. Having established the OLF and its political program, they commenced the national liberation struggle for independence. Furthermore, the Oromo Nationalists do comprehend that the road for the independence is neither short, nor easy. Therefore, the journey for the independence of Oromia will be continued even if the current momentary set backs and situations appear to favor the colonizers against the Oromo Nation’s goal of total freedom. To this end, yes, the Oromo people are the peaceful Nation, and would appreciate a mutual, and non-violent neighborhood as opposed to siding with the core enemies of the Oromo people, and collaborating with them in attempts to halt the rightful quest of the people of Oromia.
Where ever there is a subjugation, exploitation, and violations of the people’s god given basic right, there will be struggle to be free as witnessed by most Nations of the world, and that will be no different for the Nation of Oromia.
NB: My comments are purely personal, and not reflective of any political persuasion.
Yaadasaa.