Ethiopian rebel group says troops kill aid workers

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

NAIROBI, Aug 1 (Reuters) An Ethiopian rebel group accused government troops today of killing two local aid workers in the restive Ogaden region.

The separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said soldiers killed the head of the Ogaden Welfare and Development Association and another senior staff member between Segag and Degahmadow, about 500 km (310 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.

''A vehicle belonging to the ... association was attacked in the Nogob province. Mohamed Dahir Sheik Mohamud and an associate were killed by Ethiopian troops,'' ONLF said in a statement.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

ONLF said that the aid organisation was trying to help contain an outbreak of cholera in Nogob when the attack occurred on July 29.

''The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) strongly condemns this act of state sponsored terror against a prominent NGO in Ogaden,'' the statement added.

The attack came barely a week after the government ejected the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from Ogaden, a move that ONLF has criticised.

Ogaden is a dry region with few roads and is populated largely by nomadic camel herders. It is effectively off-limits to most human rights workers and journalists.

The ONLF got worldwide attention in April when it attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field in Ogaden, killing 74 people and kidnapping seven Chinese workers who were later freed.

REUTERS RN RN1618

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