AFPAddis Ababa: Ethiopia formally re-integrated some 1,700 former fighters with the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) which waged a three decade insurgency in the eastern Somali regional state, local media said Saturday. The fighters, who were based in Eritrea, returned to Ethiopia in November 2018, shortly after a peace agreement was signed between the ONLF and the Ethiopian government. Formed in 1984, ONLF had been fighting for the rights of ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia to self-determination, including the option of secession. The rebel group made international headlines on April 24, 2007 when it launched a deadly raid on a Chinese run oil field in the Somali regional state. After the attack, Addis Ababa launched a large scale counterinsurgency campaign, with rights groups alleging widespread abuses including torture, rape and murder.

Source: Ethiopian News February 09, 2019 15:56 UTC