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Ethiopia Rebels Claim Major Victory; Govâ€™t Denies

09 November 2010 21:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. An Ethiopian rebel group says it has killed more than 250 government soldiers in a string of recent attacks, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
Government officials Tuesday rejected the groupâ€™s claim, calling it a fabrication.
The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front has reported successes and victories in the past, which the government also rejected.
The claims and denials are difficult to confirm, as Ethiopiaâ€™s government bans journalists from visiting the eastern Ogaden region without escorts.
The latest ONLF statement says the groupâ€™s fighters have carried out 34 separate military operations since the start of October, killing 267 Ethiopian army soldiers and wounding 157. It says ONLF casualties were minimal.
Reuters news agency quotes a government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal, as saying the statement is the â€œusual outright lies.â€
The ONLF has been fighting since 1984 for the Ogaden regionâ€™s independence. Ethiopiaâ€™s government signed a peace deal with a breakaway faction of the group last month. A separate ONLF faction dismissed the peace deal as a sham.