Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Abdinasir Mohamed Guled
27 June 2008
According to our reporter, Abdikarin Ahmad Bulhan, traffic between the central regions of Somalia and Somali self-governing regions of Ethiopia have been diminishing due to fighting between the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels and Ethiopian forces.
Traffic between central Somalia and Somali self-governing regions of Ethiopia is said to have been halted due to the fighting between Ethiopian forces and ONLF rebels in the region.
The fighting is said to be mostly concentrated near the Somali-Ethiopian border, in the towns of Shilabo and Warder. In Galgudud, the number of vehicles plying the route is said to have diminished as Ethiopian forces imposed restrictions on traffic following assault on rebels in the region.
Although losses sustained in the fighting are still not known, drivers on the route whom I have spoken to said it is not possible to cross the border at this time.
It is still not known when normal operations will resume in the route or whether the restrictions on movements imposed by the Ethiopian forces will be lifted.
The business community is concerned about the closure of the border.
Ethiopian troops who have in the past restricted traffic along the borders are said to sometimes allow food and necessities to go through to the Ethiopian side.
During the year, both sides have variously reported hundreds of deaths, and accused the other of terrorising the population.
But with aid groups and journalist effectively barred from the worst-hit areas, independent checks on death-tolls have been impossible. A U.N. mission that went to the region in September did, however, call for a probe into reports of abuses.
Ethiopia accuses the ONLF, which is thought by analysts to number several thousand gunmen, of being terrorists supported by arch-foe and neighbour Eritrea.
The ONLF said it had surrounded a large number of Ethiopian troops, and urged them to surrender. ONLF casualties were "light given the scope of the engagements," it added.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for fresh comment on the latest ONLF statement on Tuesday.
Who are the ONLF?
The ONLF was founded in 1984.
It is fighting for independence from Ethiopia, complaining of discrimination by the central government against the region's Somali-speaking nomads.
Ogaden is the local name for the Somali region.
Some Ogaden residents and Somalis want the region to be part of a "Greater Somalia" - an idea strongly resisted by Ethiopia's government. It is not clear if this is ONLF policy.
The ONLF are backing by Eritrea, which fought a border war with Ethiopia, although this is denied in Asmara.
Have they staged similar attacks before?
The government has accused them of carrying out various bombings both in the Somali region and the capital, Addis Ababa but this is the first attack on a foreign company in the region.
There was a major military operation in the region last year.
The ONLF said it had warned China against looking for oil in the region.
It accuses the Ethiopian army of moving nomads away from their grazing lands in order to prospect for oil.
Communications are extremely difficult with this remote area and accurate information can be difficult to come by.
What is the Somali region like?
This hot, arid region was ceded to Ethiopia by the British in 1954.
Locals complain that they are unable to look after their camels, sheep and goats because of the constant fighting between the ONLF and the Ethiopian army.
Somalia has twice fought wars with Ethiopia to get it back but the Ethiopians have been victorious.
The Islamist group which controlled much of southern Somalia last year said it wanted to bring the region under Somali control.
But the Ethiopians have now helped oust the Islamists and the continued presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia has exacerbated tensions in the Somali region.
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