Ethiopia’s Defence Ministry on Tuesday said government troops had killed 200 rebels and captured hundreds in the restive predominantly Somali southern region of Ogaden over the past month.
“Over 200 anti-peace elements have been killed by the military,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that militants had “been destroyed … in a successful operation”.
“All the elements belonged to the ONLF [Ogaden National Liberation Front], OLF [Oromo Liberation Front] and al-Ittihad,” the ministry said.
The ONLF was accused of two bomb explosions that rocked the regional capital, Jijiga, on Monday, a charge the movement denied.
The ONLF, formed in 1984, is fighting for the independence of Ogaden, a region that is believed to be holding large oil and natural gas reserves and which rebels say has been marginalised by Addis Ababa.
The movement, which Addis Ababa claims is supported by arch-rival Eritrea, raided a Chinese-run oil venture in April, killing 77 people.
Ogaden is also believed to be sheltering some Islamists from Somalia, who fled when Ethiopian-backed government troops ousted the Islamic Courts Union earlier this year. — AFP