ETHIOPIA announced on Thursday it has totally crushed the separatist rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and killed its leader Boreda Birru. Birru has been accused of killing 329 people in the eastern Harargue region. Two of his aides were also killed, according to a defence ministry statement broadcast on national radio. The OLF operated in the south of Ethiopia and, according to Addis Ababa, enjoyed the backing of Eritrea, which has been at war with Ethiopia since May last year. Some 142 OLF fighters were captured in an operation launched Monday, the statement said, without giving details of its location.