Insurgency in Ogaden

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Insurgency in Ogaden
A column of ONLF rebels, October 8th 2006. (Photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie)
Date 1995[1] - present Location Ethiopian Somali region Status Conflict ongoing
Belligerents
Ethiopian National Defense Force	Ogaden National Liberation Front
Commanders
Meles Zenawi	Unknown

Recent conflicts in the Horn of Africa Eritrean War of Independence – Eritrean Civil War – Ethiopian Civil War – Ogaden War – 1982 Border War – Somali Civil War – Djiboutian Civil War – Insurgency in Ogaden – Hanish islands crisis – Eritrean-Ethiopian War – OEF Horn of Africa – Ethiopian war in Somalia

The insurgency in Ogaden, waged by the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front rebel group in Ethiopia's Somali region, began in 1995 and is ongoing. The group's aims have varied over time from increased autonomy in Ethiopia to outright independence to joining a "Greater Somalia". The long-running conflict has been largely invisible as Addis Ababa has restricted access to the region.^[1]

The low-level guerrilla campaign was continuing, generally neglected by foreign media, until several high-profile ONLF attacks in the region in 2007, including the attack on the Chinese oil site at Abole and the attacks on Jigjiga and Dhagahbur. In response, Ethiopia launched a military crackdown in June 2007 in order to root out the rebels. The offensive was accompanied by high criticism and allegations of serious human rights abuses.^[2] The offensive was also allegedly linked to Ethiopia's involvement in Somalia. One motive for Ethiopia's ouster of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in December 2006 may have been to cut the links between the ONLF, the ruling Islamic Courts and Eritrea, including arms and logistical supply lines from Eritrea and Somalia to the ONLF in Ethiopia's eastern region.^[2]

Contents 1 Background 2 The insurgency 2.1 1995-2007: a quiet conflict 2.2 April 2007: the Abole oil field raid 2.3 May 2008: Jijiga-Degehabur attacks 2.4 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown 3 The Eritrea and Somalia factors 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

The Ogaden, which is dominated by the Somali Ogaden subclan and came under Ethiopian rule only in the mid-19th century, has been the scene of a near-constant tension between Somalia and Ethiopia since Somalia became independent in 1960. The conflict emerged into open warfare in the late 1970s when then-President Siad Barre tried unsuccessfully to realise a "Greater Somalia" by invading the region in the 1977-1978 Ogaden War.

The ONLF was formed in 1984. It systematically recruited Western Somali Liberation Front(WSLF) members and replaced the WSLF in the Ogaden as the WSLF support from Somalia dwindled and finally dried up in the late eighties.^[3]

The ONLF was a participant in the Ethiopian Civil War, when it fought against the Derg, the military dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, but was not allied to the Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the guerrilla movement led by Ethiopia's current prime minister, Meles Zenawi. After the Mengistu regime fell, in 1992, the ONLF won control of the government of Ethiopia's newly formed Somali region, becoming the only party not allied to the TPLF to score such a success. However, the ONLF's open advocacy of secession for Somali region and its frosty relations with the ruling party led to its ouster from government in 1994.^[2]

[edit] The insurgency

[edit] 1995-2007: a quiet conflict

The ONLF reverted in 1995 to waging armed attacks against the TPLF-led Ethiopian government, which continued in the intervening years. For more than a decade, a heavy Ethiopian military presence in the region has been accompanied by widespread reports of human rights abuses committed by both sides. Those reports have generally been difficult to confirm because of the Ethiopian military's effective closure of the region to independent research and reporting.^[2]

The Ethiopian intervention in Somalia of December 2006 coincided with a serious escalation of the insurgency in Ogaden. Beginning in early 2007, the ONLF increased its targeting of representatives of the regional and local administrations in the Somali Region, as well as military convoys. In January 2007 ONLF rebels attacked Garbo wereda in Fiiq zone, killing five local officials who refused to hand over heavy weapons to the rebels. A week later, the ONLF attacked Gunagada police station in Dhagahbur zone. Twenty-five people were killed in the attack, including the local head of security. The ONLF also abducted a number of officials, including the police commissioner, who according to released detainees was later executed.^[4]

[edit] April 2007: the Abole oil field raid

Main article: Abole oil field raid

On April 24, 2007, members of the ONLF attacked a Chinese-run oil field in Abole, Somali Region, killing approximately 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese nationals.^[5] The ONLF claimed it had "completely destroyed" the oilfield. Most of the Ethiopians killed in the attack were daily laborers, guards and other support staff. Some members of the Ethiopian security officials were also killed during the surprise attack. It was the most deadly single attack by the ONLF.^[6] The seven Chinese oil workers kidnapped by the ONLF were released on April 29 and handed to the Red Cross, Red Cross officials and the rebels said. One Somali and an Ethiopian oil worker were also released, an Ogaden National Liberation Front spokesman said, adding all were in good health.^[7]

[edit] May 2008: Jijiga-Degehabur attacks

On May 28, ONLF fighters allegedly targeted two large gatherings in Jijiga and Degehabur with hand grenades. The blasts, and the crowd stampedes that followed, killed 17 people and wounded dozens, including the regional president of Somali Region. Most of those who died in these two simultaneous attacks were civilians, including a 17 year-old school boy and a number of women. The ONLF denied responsibility for the attacks.^[2]

[edit] 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown

Main article: 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced on June 9, 2007, that the Ethiopian government had commenced a large-scale offensive to suppress the ONLF rebellion, and brought large numbers of military reinforcements into the Somali Region.^[4] From June to September 2007, the counterinsurgency campaign was at its peak. This period was characterized by systematic using of various abusive strategies by the military. From September 2007 the Ethiopian government’s strategy shifted from the direct use of military forces to increased forced recruitment and deployment of local militia forces.^[8]

The main military operations were centered around the towns of Degehabur, Kebri Dahar, Werder and Shilavo in Ogaden, which are in the Ethiopian Somali Region. The area is home to the Ogaden clan, seen as the bedrock of support to the ONLF.^[9]

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), various human rights abuses were perpetrated, mostly by the Ethiopian military. Hundreds of civilians were killed and tens of thousands were displaced in 2007 alone, though exact figures are unknown because the area is remote and Ethiopian officials restrict access for humanitarian groups and journalists.^[10] Reports of village burnings and relocations diminished in 2008. This may reflect a change of strategy on the part of the Ethiopian military and fewer clashes with the ONLF, or may be the simple result of thousands of people having now fled the region.^[11]

[edit] The Eritrea and Somalia factors

Ethiopia accuses neighboring Eritrea of using the ONLF to start a proxy war to destroy Ethiopia's economy. The two nations have been bitter enemies since they fought an unresolved border war in 1998-2000. Officials in Asmara deny that Eritrea is aiding the ONLF. They accuse Ethiopia of using Eritrea as a scapegoat for its inability to settle disputes with Ethiopia's numerous ethnic groups.^[12] Both the ONLF and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) established a presence in Eritrea during the Ethiopian-Eritrean war of 1998-2000, and received training as well as logistical and military support.^[13]

The 2007-2008 crackdown in the Somali region was also linked to Ethiopian military operations in Somalia. One motive for Ethiopia's ouster of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in December 2006 may have been to cut the links between the ONLF, the ruling Islamic Courts and Eritrea, including arms and logistical supply lines from Eritrea and Somalia to the ONLF in Ethiopia's eastern region.^[2] Experts say the ONLF was active in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2006 when it was controlled by Islamic Courts Union and that some Islamist fighters may have fled to Ogaden after they were ousted from Mogadishu.^[9] The relations between the ONLF and militant Islamist Somali groups such as al-Itihaad and Al-Shabaab are not clear. Although the Ethiopian government frequently claims the groups are connected, according to the Human Rights Watch ONLF and al-Shabaab clashed in the Somali Region in late 2007. The ONLF repeatedly sought to distance itself from some of the more militant Islamist groups operating in the region.^[14]

[edit] See also

• Ethiopian Civil War
• Red Terror (Ethiopia)
• Ogaden War
• War in Somalia (2006–present)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region (Human Rights Watch)