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Thursday, 08 January, 2009, 22:40 GMT | more >>

Rebels 'sorry' for Chinese deaths



By Upstream staff 

Photo by AFP


Ethiopian rebels have said they are sorry for the death of Chinese workers during an attack on an oilfield, saying they had no plans to hold hostages snatched during the raid or attack other foreign companies.

Members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) killed 74 people and seized seven Chinese workers in a raid on an oilfield on Tuesday.

A London-based spokesman for the group said it had warned investors the area was a war zone and that it expected the conflict to escalate.

"We have no new plans to attack foreign companies at the moment," Abdirahman Mohammed Mahdi told Reuters by telephone.

"But our general policy is that foreigners are not allowed to explore for oil or gas in the Ogaden. Any company which does that will be responsible for what happens."

The separatist rebels, who have been fighting the government since 1984, stormed the oilfield in Ethiopia's barren southeast, killing 65 locals and 9 Chinese in one of the worst attacks yet on Beijing's growing interests in Africa.

Mahdi said the ONLF was "terribly sorry" for the deaths of the Chinese, who he said were caught in the crossfire during a mission the guerrillas had planned for six months. And he said the group was trying to return the seven Chinese it had seized.

"We do not consider them hostages. We took them away for their own safety. We are trying to contact the appropriate authorities, the Red Cross or whoever, to return them," he said.

He warned the military against launching a rescue mission.

"They will be responsible for any debacle that happens," Mahdi said. "That would be a most foolish thing to do."

The ONLF has repeatedly told energy companies they will not allow oil and gas exploration in the area as long as the Ogaden people are "denied their rights to self-determination".

Last year it told a state-run Indian company vying for a gas concession to drop its plans.

Mahdi said the rebels had captured lots of weapons in recent operations against Ethiopian troops and he expected the fighting in Ogaden to intensify as the military retaliated.

"We control the countryside ... Ethiopian army camps will be attacked wherever they are," he said.

China has condemned the killings of staff working for Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, part of Sinopec, the country's biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.

Beijing sent foreign and commerce ministry officials as well as Sinopec representatives to the Horn of Africa nation, where they met Prime Minister Meles Zenawi today.

Ethiopian media said Meles offered condolences and assured the delegation of the safety of Chinese citizens in the country.

"The inhumane massacre committed by terrorists will not affect the age-long friendly relations and economic ties between the two countries," Wang Shengawn, a leader of the Chinese delegation, said in a statement on Ethiopian state TV.

Ethiopia also renewed its vow to hunt down rebels it says are "terrorists" backed by arch-foe and regional rival Eritrea.

Asmara denies the allegations and accuses Addis Ababa of trying to divert attention from the two nations' border dispute.

Thursday, 26 April, 2007, 20:45 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 26 April, 2007, 20:45 GMT

Armed resistance: ONLF fighters show off their weapons at a ceremony last year
 

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