Ahmed, 35, is a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), one of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence of the Somali-speaking Ogaden region in the east of Ethiopia.The previous evening, he had participated in an attack against Ethiopian troops near the town of Babile.
"The assault lasted only a few minutes but we managed to kill nine government soldiers," he said.
"We are no match for direct combat, so we must rely on quick surprise attacks."
The armed resistance began in 1994 after the ONLF, then a political organisation, broached the idea of splitting from Ethiopia.
The central government responded by imprisoning Ogaden leaders and, according to academics and human rights groups, assassinating others.
'Point of no-return'
"In 1994, as a student in Dire Dawa, I was not allowed take the final examinations because I was an Ogadenian," said Ahmed. "I was arrested two years later on false charges of belonging to the ONLF, they kept me there for four years and I was beaten repeatedly, sometimes even subjected to electric torture. While in detention, my father was killed by government soldiers."
On his release in 2001, he immediately joined the rebellion but his mother remains in jail in Jijiga.
Fearing for his family, Ahmed convinced his wife to flee with their two daughters.
"They are refugees in Kenya, I haven't seen them for three years.
"There comes a point of no-return when you know you don't belong in this country," he said.
'Human shields'
Over the past two years the conflict has escalated following the ONLF's April 2007 attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.
This resulted in the death of 74 people, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers.
The central government calls the rebels "terrorists", however watchdogs have accused the government of human rights violations.
"This is a complete fabrication and these are unfounded allegations," said Berhanu Kebede, Ethiopia's ambassador to the UK.
"The Ethiopian government has no intention of harming civilians, it is the ONLF that use civilians as human shields."
Near the deserted village of Galashe, which Ethiopian troops allegedly stormed in January 2009, Ahmed explains what lies beneath the numerous piles of rocks.
"There are about 50 bodies under each pile.
"The Ethiopian soldiers stayed here for a couple of months, they terrorised inhabitants, killing as many as 1,500 people."
| “ In this village, they crushed babies' heads with stones and in another, they cut up bodies and scattered the parts to prevent remaining villagers from burying the dead ” Ahmed |
In Galashe and across Ogaden, civilians attest to the same horrors, the gang-raping of women, the burning of huts and killing of livestock.
But the Ethiopian ambassador denied this claim.
"This was recently the subject of an independent investigation and this has made it clear that no such crimes were committed.
"This is a vast area with a population of 4.5 million, who are mostly nomadic and you won't see graveyards because people bury their relatives anywhere they can," said Mr Berhanu.
The government has closed off all access to the Ogaden region.
Ahmed believes the Ethiopian government is trying to cut them off from the local population which supplied the rebels with food
Rebel alert
One of Ahmed's main tasks is to train the younger recruits.
"They are very angry but it is important that they remember to stay organised, especially when things appear calm," he said.
The Ethiopian government has been trying to find a political solution to the problem.
| “ The rebels say that they cannot live under Ethiopian rule but we are a federal state. ” Berhanu Kebede |
"We are approaching them through their elders to explain that the constitution provides enough political space for a peaceful resolution of the problem but they must renounce the armed struggle and wage their political agenda peacefully," said Mr Berhanu."The rebels say that they cannot live under Ethiopian rule but we are a federal state."
Ethiopia remains one of the world's most aid-dependent countries, receiving more than $2bn in foreign assistance every year.
Evidently, no aid reaches the Ogaden region despite the government's insistence that hostilities have ceased.
"Why does the international community remain silent?" said Ahmed.
"The UN must come to the Ogaden to see what [Prime Minister]Meles is doing to us."
Yannick Demoustier is a French journalist for Rue des Pommiers news agency and Jonathan Alpeyrie is an independent photojournalist.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8112541.stm
Published: 2009/06/30 15:16:34 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Comments (7)
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written by osman warsame, July 01, 2009
the ONLF should bring all rebel groups together and coordinated attacks against the Ethiopian forces all over ethiopia or they should surrender and the let the people be colonized, simple as that.
Now some of you are shaking your heads and saying what a coward, i am far from being a coward. this struggle has been going on for far too long and it is causing a massive humanitarian catastrophe against the poor people of the Ogaden. this struggle should be brought to a quick end through a victory or defeat.
What the ONLF needs to do to defeat the massive war machine of the Ethiopian dictator is to have a real and working relationship with all the other rebel groups throughout Ethiopia. all the groups should communicate and setup plans on how to topple the dictator. this is no easy an task but is achievable. all the rebels should coordinate attacks and get Ethiopian military fighting multiple fronts instead of just Ogadenia, roads and rail lines should be blocked and the blockades should be sustained throughout Ethiopia to cripple the economy of the country and cause civil unrest inside Ethiopia. rebels should be integrated during drought seasons to avoid desertions i.e [ if theirs drought in Ogadenia, Onlf should be able to go to oromia state and continue fighting]. rebels should form units to hunt down senior ethiopian officials, it is a good intimidation tactics [ just sending someone a bullet in an envelope will give them sleepless nights].
Now if the Onlf can't do what i mentioned above they should put down their arms and join the government, because that is how you win wars against modern military might. all the rest will just make the people suffer more unnecessary hardships.
and for goodness sakes change the name from ONLF to something else, it does not matter if you change it to goats liberation front or soil liberation front. if just changing the name will bring others to join the struggle well and good. me personally the highly educated guy i am i could careless about name. but knowing somalis and how clan politics ruins everything i think it would be a smart move to make the struggle the peoples struggle not just one clans struggle. the divide and rule policies of the british is the origins of the name of Ogadenia, and now we are still divided and ruled just because we don't want to correct ourselves.
Now some of you are shaking your heads and saying what a coward, i am far from being a coward. this struggle has been going on for far too long and it is causing a massive humanitarian catastrophe against the poor people of the Ogaden. this struggle should be brought to a quick end through a victory or defeat.
What the ONLF needs to do to defeat the massive war machine of the Ethiopian dictator is to have a real and working relationship with all the other rebel groups throughout Ethiopia. all the groups should communicate and setup plans on how to topple the dictator. this is no easy an task but is achievable. all the rebels should coordinate attacks and get Ethiopian military fighting multiple fronts instead of just Ogadenia, roads and rail lines should be blocked and the blockades should be sustained throughout Ethiopia to cripple the economy of the country and cause civil unrest inside Ethiopia. rebels should be integrated during drought seasons to avoid desertions i.e [ if theirs drought in Ogadenia, Onlf should be able to go to oromia state and continue fighting]. rebels should form units to hunt down senior ethiopian officials, it is a good intimidation tactics [ just sending someone a bullet in an envelope will give them sleepless nights].
Now if the Onlf can't do what i mentioned above they should put down their arms and join the government, because that is how you win wars against modern military might. all the rest will just make the people suffer more unnecessary hardships.
and for goodness sakes change the name from ONLF to something else, it does not matter if you change it to goats liberation front or soil liberation front. if just changing the name will bring others to join the struggle well and good. me personally the highly educated guy i am i could careless about name. but knowing somalis and how clan politics ruins everything i think it would be a smart move to make the struggle the peoples struggle not just one clans struggle. the divide and rule policies of the british is the origins of the name of Ogadenia, and now we are still divided and ruled just because we don't want to correct ourselves.
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written by Nasiye, July 01, 2009
.....But the struggle continues.
Its worth the price. This brutality against our civilians will only strenghten our resolve and determination.
Its worth the price. This brutality against our civilians will only strenghten our resolve and determination.
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written by Jabhad, July 02, 2009
We are not the aggressors here but the rightful freedom fighters.The British criminal colonialist had put us under the rule of their underdog Abesinians without our consent.They still support the loathed regime with finance & power to subjugate the very people they had stripped of their God given rights!FREEDOM.No matter what we will not rest till we get our independence back.Our motto is DEATH OR VICTORY NO MORE NO LESS.
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written by Samaale Omar, July 05, 2009
All the people of Ogaden support ONLF 100%....
They represent all of us and we love them. Go ONLF
Viva ONLF we are 100% behind you.
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written by osman warsame, July 06, 2009
We have seen how the shameless dictator in Ethiopia meles is commiting genocide against the poor people of the Ogaden, and at the same time he is trying to exploit their God given natural resources. what a shameless moronic, mindless, disgusting, and megalomaniac dictator.
My friends, i am writing this posting on how we can defeat the dictator on Not pulling a single barrel of oil out of Ogaden. I strongly believe that we can prevent this from happening if we become realistic in our approach to this issue and utilise our resources all over the world. We can do many things to prevent greedy oil companies from even thinking about coming to Ogaden to extract oil from the land of the subjugated masses.
what we can do is first we need organisation like the Onlf to spearhead this effort. we also need our brethrens in the diaspora to take a proactive role in this struggle.
the oil companies just want to make a dollar without any hassles, they cannot stand protests and defaming television ads that will portrait their company in a negative limelight.
say, i will use for example petronas, the malaysian company currently seeking to explore for oil and gas in Ogaden. petronas can be discourage if we utilise our large somali population in malaysia to protest in front of the company headquarters in Kuala lumpur, Malaysia to bring attention among the muslim malaysians on how their partly owned government company is wreaking havoc with the help of the dictator meles zenawi on the poor muslim people of Ogaden. We can also buy TV ads on national televisions in malaysia to highlight the inhumane nature of petronas and how it makes money without any consideration of the oppressed peoples plight. Now the ads must show the reality in the ogaden and the people of ogaden must be in them talking about their problems with the regime and the ongoing genocide committed against them by petronas. TV ads are not that expensive, for example in the US it cost about $500 per day on nationally known popular channel. I am sure it's even cheaper in Malaysia.
We can also sue petronas and the malaysian government through their court systems to halt the drilling and compensate the Ogaden people for damages caused against them by the greedy dictator with the help of petronas which is partly owned by the malaysian government. The Malaysian people need to know how their government owned company is helping fund the genocide against a fellow muslim people.
Now this are all pressure tactics that if sustained will cause Petronas to have second thoughts about oil drilling in Ogaden and eventually make it withdraw its commitment to explore for oil in Ogaden. If we can get a moral victory over Petronas, they will withdraw from Ogaden and a victory against Petronas will mean a victory against all other oil companies.
what i have mentioned cannot be done by a single individual or a single organisation, but by a collective determined men and women who are willing to put their money and effort in to ensure that not a single barrel of oil is taking out of Ogaden without the consent of the Ogaden people.
All the tactics i mentioned are not that expensive and if sustained will defeat the dictator and Petronas.
Let's keep the pressure on.
My friends, i am writing this posting on how we can defeat the dictator on Not pulling a single barrel of oil out of Ogaden. I strongly believe that we can prevent this from happening if we become realistic in our approach to this issue and utilise our resources all over the world. We can do many things to prevent greedy oil companies from even thinking about coming to Ogaden to extract oil from the land of the subjugated masses.
what we can do is first we need organisation like the Onlf to spearhead this effort. we also need our brethrens in the diaspora to take a proactive role in this struggle.
the oil companies just want to make a dollar without any hassles, they cannot stand protests and defaming television ads that will portrait their company in a negative limelight.
say, i will use for example petronas, the malaysian company currently seeking to explore for oil and gas in Ogaden. petronas can be discourage if we utilise our large somali population in malaysia to protest in front of the company headquarters in Kuala lumpur, Malaysia to bring attention among the muslim malaysians on how their partly owned government company is wreaking havoc with the help of the dictator meles zenawi on the poor muslim people of Ogaden. We can also buy TV ads on national televisions in malaysia to highlight the inhumane nature of petronas and how it makes money without any consideration of the oppressed peoples plight. Now the ads must show the reality in the ogaden and the people of ogaden must be in them talking about their problems with the regime and the ongoing genocide committed against them by petronas. TV ads are not that expensive, for example in the US it cost about $500 per day on nationally known popular channel. I am sure it's even cheaper in Malaysia.
We can also sue petronas and the malaysian government through their court systems to halt the drilling and compensate the Ogaden people for damages caused against them by the greedy dictator with the help of petronas which is partly owned by the malaysian government. The Malaysian people need to know how their government owned company is helping fund the genocide against a fellow muslim people.
Now this are all pressure tactics that if sustained will cause Petronas to have second thoughts about oil drilling in Ogaden and eventually make it withdraw its commitment to explore for oil in Ogaden. If we can get a moral victory over Petronas, they will withdraw from Ogaden and a victory against Petronas will mean a victory against all other oil companies.
what i have mentioned cannot be done by a single individual or a single organisation, but by a collective determined men and women who are willing to put their money and effort in to ensure that not a single barrel of oil is taking out of Ogaden without the consent of the Ogaden people.
All the tactics i mentioned are not that expensive and if sustained will defeat the dictator and Petronas.
Let's keep the pressure on.
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written by cabdi, July 14, 2009
how can we bring our people together to defeat the weakest and poorest country in the world
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1.. all the rebel groups in ethiopia should meet possibly in Asmara and discuss ways they can help each other and coordinate attacks. should focus on strenghtening ties and communication, and maybe even troops integrations and single command and control to coordinate attacks.
2... the rebels should focus their strategies on first weakening the regime, by that you need to weaken it economically. financial weak government is weak militarily. How do we weaken in it economically? simple, you bring the country to are stand still no movement of products and goods. no movement of products and goods,, no business, no business no taxes to government covers. You do this by attacking and burning transport trucks and their cargo, and derailing the only cargo train that brings products to landlocked Ethiopia. Then the government will try to protect the roads and rail lines. they need massive Numbers of troops to do so. now the rebels have diverted some ethiopia troops to non essential non battle related tasks that are costly to the regime and beneficial to the rebels, because now the rebels will have to confront lesser numbers of Ethiopia troops. and the government road and rail line troops will be weak and easily outnumbered.
3....The rebels should focus on flipping the Ethiopian generals and high ranking military official to their side. this can be done by bribing them or promise of high government post when the dictatorial regime is over thrown. If the rebels succeed in flipping are general, they can get massive weaponry with him or valuable military secret that can change outcomes of battles.
4... In every struggle The hearts and minds of the people is crucial to success. let it be the people inside Ethiopia or Outside. propaganda and PR campaign should be launched to make the rebellion THE PEOPLES REBELLION.
5.. the rebellions should observe the elements {droughts and rainy season} this is crucial to victory or defeat. when there is a drought rebels should seek a place they can get food and water, and continue fighting unabated. We have seen the ONLF nearly destroyed when in a drought the Ethiopian regime burned villages and buried boreholes, and used food as a weapon to starve the rebels to death. This should be avoided with alliance of rebels. when one rebel groups region is in drought they should be allowed to come to another rebel groups land so they can get food and water undisturbed by locals.
6...Oil drilling in Ethiopian should be stopped at any cost and by any means necessary. a rich enemy is a strong enemy. stopping oil drilling in Ethiopia can be done by combination of site attacks and buying TV advertisement in home country of the oil drilling company and even protest at that companies headquaters in their country. that will embarrass the company and make it costly for them to drill for oil in Ethiopia.
7... peoples rights should be respected and human rights violations should be avoided. if the rebels start human rights they will lose the support of the people because people their is no difference between the government and the rebels.