Ethiopian govt, rebels both claim victory in clash

2009-07-06 17:36:03 -

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - The Ethiopian government and a rebel group both claimed victory after weekend clashes in the east of the country, but there was no way to verify either side's claims because of severe restrictions on reporting from the region.
Ethiopian Communication Minister Bereket Simon said Monday the government had captured 60 men he described as «terrorists» trying to cross the border with Somalia, which is being riven apart by an Islamic insurgency. Simon said there were two clashes and the rebels were defeated. He declined to provide details of the fighting.
In e-mails purportedly from the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the group said they had killed 90 government troops and injured 100 others. The e-mails described battles over three days, including a number of wounded and injured in each encounter and the equipment captured. They also accused the government of executing a girl and five teenagers in the village of Kebridehar.
The e-mails also said the rebels had killed several army officers near Shilabo, 400 miles (650 kilometers) east of the capital of Addis Ababa. They said fighting was ongoing.
The rebels have been fighting for over a decade for greater autonomy for eastern Ethiopia, which is ethnically Somali. The government accuses the rebels of being terrorists funded by its archenemy Eritrea. In 2007, the group killed 74 workers at a Chinese-owned oil field.
The Ethiopian government is a firm ally of the United States, which sees it as a bulwark against al-Qaida-linked Islamic fighters in Somalia. But the Ethiopian government is regularly criticized by the United States for severe human rights abuses.
Verifying information from the Ogaden region is extremely difficult. The area is large, remote, difficult to navigate and certain areas, including the area in which the attack allegedly occurred, are under military occupation.