DATELINE:
NAIROBI, April 1 2008
BODY:
An Ethiopian rebel group Tuesday rejected
claims that eight men arrested on suspicion
of involvement in last year's deadly raid on
a Chinese oil venture were its members.
The Ethiopian News Agency, citing security
forces, said Sunday the eight detainees
linked to the April 2007 attack that left 74
people dead, were members of the Ogaden
National Liberation Front (ONLF), a
separatist group fighting for the
independence of ethnic Somalis in Ogaden.
"The Ethiopian government claim that it
arrested eight members of ONLF involved in
the Obole oil incident is fabricated and
intended to divert attention from its
ongoing genocide against the Ogaden people,"
ONLF said in a statement.
"The Ethiopian government chose this moment
to issue such a preposterous claim in order
to gloat over the suffering of the Ogaden
people," it added.
The Ethiopian army launched a crackdown in
the region on ONLF rebels soon after the
attack that grounded operations in the
Chinese oil venture in Ogaden region.
The barren region has long been extremely
poor, but discovery of gas and oil brought
new hopes and has fueled the conflict.
Formed in 1984, the ONLF is fighting for the
independence of ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden,
who they say have been marginalised by Addis
Ababa.
LOAD-DATE: April 2, 2008
AFP |
