Rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) called on the United Nations to investigate the ruling Ethiopian administration for violations of crimes against humanity. The ONLF opposition group won several seats in the Ethiopian parliamentary in 2005 in an attempt to topple the regime of Prime Minister Meles Senawi. The ONLF are warning of an impending humanitarian disaster amidst claims that Senawi is sponsoring a food blockade to the remote border region with Somalia. The ONLF said in a statement that “humanitarian assistance is deliberately being diverted to armed forces and militias responsible for these war crimes.”
Government officials in the capital, Addis Ababa, note that the ONLF is a terrorist group and itself called for a U.N. investigation. The rebel group was also implicated in a raid on a Chinese run oil-field earlier this year, where the ONLF killed 74 people and kidnapped seven workers. Aid workers and foreign diplomats, however, note that Addis Ababa has been blocking humanitarian aid and imposing economic restrictions on the rebel homeland in eastern Ethiopia.
Five members of the ONLF were indicted for inciting violence in opposition to recent elections in Ethiopia. ONLF rebels have been trying to overthrow the current regime and the Zenawi regime imprisoned ONLF leaders and some journalists for treason, inciting violence, and attempting to spark a genocide. Earlier this year, the government freed several opposition leaders due to international criticism and increasing pressure from the United States. In response to the election protests, Addis Ababa responded with force to quell the violence, resulting in the death of 193 civilian protesters.
The horn of Africa has been embattled with conflict sparked by the spiraling humanitarian crises there. Legislation sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives this week has criticized Ethiopia's human rights records and has called for economic sanctions. The bill must pass through Congress and be signed by President Bush, however, what effect sanctions would have on a Third World country are unclear.
