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WORLD / Africa
Ethiopian rebels declare ceasefire
(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-03 10:48
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Rebels in Ethiopia's volatile east declared a
unilateral cease-fire Sunday so the United Nations can investigate their
claims of human rights abuses by the government in the region.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels, ethnic Somalis who
have been fighting for autonomy for more than a decade, said they will
only defend themselves if attacked.
"We want to give every hand to the UN mission so that the Ethiopian
government does not find an excuse to interfere, so that they (the UN)
can do a thorough investigation about what's happening in the Ogaden,"
Abdulrahman Mahdi, spokesman for the ONLF, told The Associated Press in a
telephone interview.
The rebels are fighting the government over what they say are human
rights abuses in their region such as blockading humanitarian aid and
targeting civilians in military operations, which the government denies.
Mahdi said the cease-fire will last as long as the UN is in the Ogaden,
which is near the Somali border. The 14-person UN mission arrived in the
region last week.
Ethiopian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ethiopia announced a crackdown on the rebels in June.
The UN World Food Program said last month that government military
operations are hampering the delivery of aid, but the government is not
blockading shipments.
Last week, aid agency Doctors Without Borders accused the government of
denying it access to "vulnerable civilians living in that area."
Ethiopian authorities also have ordered the International Committee of
the Red Cross to stop work there, accusing the group of talking to rebels
operating in the area.
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