2007–2008 Ethiopian Crackdown In Ogaden
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a military campaign by the
Ethiopian Army The Ethiopian Ground Forces () is the land service branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. It is senior of the two uniformed military branches. It engages in land warfare and combined arms operations, including armored and mechanized o ...
against the
Ogaden National Liberation Front The Ogaden National Liberation Front (abbreviated ONLF, so, Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين) is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to ...
(ONLF). The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed 74 people in an attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007. The main military operations were centered on the towns of
Degehabur Degehabur ( so, Dhagaxbuur, Amharic: ደገሕ ቡር) is a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Degehabur Zone of the Somali Region on the Jerer River, Degahbur is traditionally the seat of the Dalalguuleed by subclan ...
,
Kebri Dahar Kebri dehar ( so, Qabri-Dahare) is a city in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Somali Region. Located in the Korahe Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1609 meters above sea level. ...
, Werder and Shilavo in
Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...
, which are in the
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n
Somali Region The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
. The area is home to the Ogaden clan, seen as the bedrock of support of the ONLF.Ethiopia Ogaden crisis
,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
AlertNet, 1st December, 2007.
According to
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW), various
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
abuses were committed by the
Ethiopian military The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...
.


Background


Insurgency

Ethiopia's eastern Somali Region, whose major part constitutes the Ogaden, is the site of a long-running, low-intensity armed conflict between the Ethiopian Government and the ONLF.Ethiopia: Crackdown in East Punishes Civilians
,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, July 4, 2007.
Formed in 1984, many of the ONLF's members had supported
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in the
Ogaden War The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...
with Ethiopia over the region in the 1970s. The group's aims have varied over time from independence to joining a "
greater Somalia Greater Somalia ( so, Soomaaliweyn, ar, الصومال الكبرى ''As-Sūmal al-Kubra'') is a concept to unite all ethnic Somalis comprising the regions in or near the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited ...
" or obtaining greater autonomy within Ethiopia.


April–May 2007 ONLF attacks


Timeline

On October 21, 2007, the ONLF stated its forces had killed 250 soldiers during the battle near the town of Werder. There was no confirmation of the attack either from the Ethiopian Government or from independent sources. On November 4, the ONLF claimed that up to 270 Ethiopian soldiers had been killed in clashes between October 26 and November 1. Once again, the claim could not be independently verified. On November 16, 2007, the Ethiopian Army claimed to have killed 100 ONLF fighters during the past month, and to have captured hundreds more. On November 18, 2007, the ONLF reported that the Ethiopian Air Force had carpet bombed villages and nomadic settlements the Ogaden region, killing up to a dozen civilians. An ONLF spokesman also said that some ONLF fighters were hurt in the air bombardments, but the air force targeted civilian settlements and livestock. The Ethiopian Government denied these reports on November 20. On November 28, 2007, Ogaden residents described continued abuses on the part of the military, but also said that aid delivery had improved. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said the humanitarian situation in Ogaden as "potentially serious" but not yet catastrophic. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis "didn't exist. Doesn't exist. Will not exist." In January 2009, the foreign relations chief Mohammed Sirad was killed by Ethiopian security forces at the town of Danan as he met with other ONLF members. Reportedly this has led to the ONLF splitting into two factions, with one group allied to current ONLF chairman
Mohammed Omar Osman Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman (born 1940) () is a Somali admiral, war hero and the incumbent chairman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). Early life and education He was born in Somalia, but attended secondary school in Mogadishu. He l ...
, and the other led by senior leader Abdiwali Hussein Gas, who appointed Salahudin Ma'ow as the new ONLF chairman and declared that he will "bring Mohammed Omar Osman to court".


Allegations of human rights abuses


Abuses perpetrated by the Ethiopian military

Ethiopia's military campaign has triggered a serious
humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or extern ...
, according to several humanitarian organisations. According to
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, civilians in the Somali Region were trapped between the warring parties. HRW learned that dozens of civilians have been killed in what appeared to have been a deliberate effort to mete out collective punishment against a civilian population suspected of sympathizing with the rebels. Refugees fleeing the crackdown told stories of widespread violence, with entire villages being destroyed along with arbitrary theft, rape and murder by Ethiopian soldiers. In October 2007, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' reported that the situation in Ogaden had begun to mirror the
Darfur conflict The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups be ...
, with refugees stating that government troops had burned villages and raped and killed civilians. Earlier in the month, Human Rights Watch had told the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health that "the Ogaden is not Darfur. But the situation in Ogaden follows a frighteningly familiar pattern", while recognizing that "Ethiopia has legitimate and serious domestic and regional security concerns". Also, the United Nations advocacy director for Human Rights Watch has called Ogaden a "mini-Darfur". Human Rights Watch says it has documented dozens of cases of severe abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden, including gang rapes, burned villages and what it calls "demonstration killings," like hanging and beheading of populace, meant to terrorize the population. Gettleman, Jeffrey.
In Rebel Region, Ethiopia Turns to Civilian Patrols
," ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 14, 2007.


Forceful draft of civilians

Several Ethiopian refugees and international organizations reported in December 2007 that the Ethiopian military, strained by its deployment in Somalia, was forcing local civilians (including government employees and health workers) to fight alongside troops against the ONLF rebels. According to the same reports, these under-equipped and poorly trained militias suffered heavy casualties in several battles. One Western aid official said soldiers barged into hospitals to
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
recruits and threatened to jail health workers if they did not comply. In other cases, lists of names were posted on public bulletin boards, ordering government employees to report for duty, according to a current member of the regional parliament and two Ethiopian administrators who have fled the country. Many of those who refused were fired, jailed and in some cases tortured, the administrators and parliament member said.Gettleman, Jeffrey.
Civilians are forced to fight Ethiopian rebels
," ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'', December 14, 2007.
Ethiopian officials denied the charges, claiming that local tribes were willingly forming defense groups against the ONLF. Several United Nations officials and Western diplomats said they were discussing the militia program in private meetings, but contended they could not comment publicly for fear of provoking the ire of the Ethiopian government, resulting in a possible suspension of humanitarian efforts in the region.


Expulsions of humanitarian agencies

Large segments of the region were inaccessible to outside agencies as Ethiopian troops attempted to suppress the rebel insurgency.Ethiopia rebels 'agree UN truce'
, ''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', September 2, 2007.
On November 6, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced opening an aid facility in the Ogaden region. The U.N. has also called for an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by Ethiopian forces in the region. Government troops are fighting ONLF rebels who want more autonomy for their region. Médecins Sans Frontières is among the 12 organizations that have received permission to work in Ogaden, while the ICRC is still barred from working in the region.


The Eritrea and Somalia factors

Experts say the ONLF was active in the Somali capital
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
during 2006 while that city was controlled by the
Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union ( so, Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga) was a legal and political organization formed to address the lawlessness that had been gripping Somalia since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 during the Somali Civil War. Th ...
, and that some Islamist fighters may have fled to Ogaden after they were ousted from Mogadishu.


See also

*
Ogaden War The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...
*
Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthre ...
*
War in Somalia (2006–2009) The War in Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War, was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somalia, Somali Transitional Federal Parliament, Transitional Fe ...
*
List of wars 2003-current A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References


External links


Ethiopia: Crackdown in East Punishes Civilians
(
HRW Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ri ...
)
Ethiopia's dirty war
(
Guardian Unlimited TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...
)
Ethiopia to press Ogaden campaign despite criticism
(
Garowe Online Garowe Online is an independent bilingual news website founded in 2004 and is owned by Garowe News Group, which also owns Radio Garowe. The organisation is based in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State of Somalia. In 2011, ''Garowe Online'' w ...
)
In the shadow of Ethiopia's rebels
(
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
) * *
Crisis briefing on the violence in the Ogaden region
from
Reuters AlertNet Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crackdown In Ogaden 2007 in Ethiopia 2008 in Ethiopia Conflicts in 2008 Conflicts in 2007 Human rights abuses in Ethiopia Insurgency in Ogaden