Reuters AlertNet Lite - Ethiopia's Ogaden rebels deny bombing mourners

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Ethiopia's Ogaden rebels deny bombing mourners

28 Apr 2007 07:25:46 GMT
Source: Reuters

NAIROBI, April 28 (Reuters) - Ethiopian rebels who killed 74 people in a raid on a Chinese-run oilfield denied on Saturday they were behind a deadly grenade attack on mourners.

The government blamed the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) for the blast, which killed two people at a memorial service in the regional capital Jijiga on Thursday. The ONLF has said it launched Tuesday's pre-dawn assault on the oilfield.

"We wish to make clear that it is the policy of the ONLF not to deliberately harm civilians or carry out military operations targeting civilians," the separatist group said in a statement.

It said the grenade attack was triggered by a dispute between soldiers gathered to mourn a colleague killed in the raid in the remote east, some 100 km (60 miles) south of Jijiga.

The assault on the oil exploration field was one the worst attacks on Beijing's growing economic interests in Africa.

The ONLF killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers, and seized seven Chinese. The group says the seven are well and will be freed when the military stops activities in the area.

The rebels have repeatedly warned investors they will not allow oil and gas exploration in the Ogaden region as long as local people were "denied their rights to self-determination".

The Chinese staff worked for Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, part of the much larger Sinopec, China's biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.

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Last updated:Sat Apr 28 07:28:31 2007