Addis Abeba — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told state media that the Ethiopian government has secured the release peacefully of six Djiboutian soldiers who were held hostage by the FRUD militants.

The Directorate General of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fisha Shewal, said that the government in cooperation with the Afar region has secured the release of the six soldiers who have been handed over to the government of Djibouti; he added that the federal government was working with the Djibouti government to solve the security problem.

Djibouti's Ministry of Defense said seven soldiers were killed on the Tadjourah Regiment of the Djibouti army at Garabistan on the evening of 06 October 2022, which also injured four soldiers; six others are reported missing. Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti, vowed that "all these miscreants will be prosecuted, arrested and brought to justice.

The soldiers were kidnapped by FRUD armed group, a splinter rebel group of the Front for the Restoration and Democracy, which claims fighting for the autonomy of the Afar people. Djibouti accused the group of conducting "odious and criminal acts of terrorizing and looting people from remote areas of the country" and said reinforcements was sent out and "the pursuit is underway."

Ethiopia condemned the attack as "barbaric and cowardly" and said it stands in solidarity with the Government and people of the Djibouti "at this difficult moment and expresses its full readiness to closely work together with the Government of the Republic of Djibouti in tackling the scourge of terrorism in the region."

Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, condemned the attack by armed group and denounced the attack in the "strongest terms possible" and called it "criminal and cowardly."

Djibouti has since designated the FRUD rebels as "terrorist organization." AS