A rebel group issued a warning on Monday to companies that are looking to develop natural gas fields in a contested area of Ethiopia, saying any investment that benefits the Ethiopian government ”will not be tolerated”.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which wants an independent state in Ethiopia for ethnic Somalis, said a pipeline ”in what is essentially a combat zone is far from reality”.
Somalis lost a war in 1977 over control of Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, which is largely inhabited by ethnic Somalis. Last month, the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy issued a notice soliciting bids for the development of the Calub gas fields in Ogaden.
Two Indian companies, the Gas Authority of India (Gail) and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, have issued a joint expression of interest in the area.
The rebel group warned in a statement on Monday that ”the exploitation of natural resources in Ogaden for the benefit of the Ethiopian regime or any foreign firm will not be tolerated”.
Jignesh Vasavada, a deputy manager of Gail, said ”Gail is not aware of any threat issued by an East African rebel group.”
Somalia has not had an effective central government since opposition leaders ousted long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. They then turned on each other, carving the nation into a patchwork of clan-based fiefdoms.
Ethiopia then backed factions that fought in Somalia in the 14 years the nation has been without an effective central government. — Sapa-AP