Ogaden: Separatists, "We shall pursue struggle against self-determination"
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has denied rumors spread by the Ethiopian press suggesting that the movement has given up the struggle for self-determination, having admitted defeat. The movement has issued an official note which was published after the Ethiopian government had described the rebels of being "entirely destroyed' after a military offensive that led to the "killing and capture of several movement leaders". The statements, said the ONLF "may be described as make-believe hopes, entirely different than the actual facts", advising that their offensive capacity is "stronger than ever". The movement also said that behind the government's statements "there is the attempt to convince oil companies to return to operate in the region". The intensity of the warfare between the government and the ONLF has increased after last April, when the separatists – active since the early-90's – attacked some oil wells managed by a Chinese company killing 77. The Ethiopian government reacted with a ground and air offensive; prime minister Meles Zenawi's decision to prohibit access to humanitarian operators has made living conditions for civilians all the more difficult. [AB]
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