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NAIROBI,
28 December (IRIN) - The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) said
it had killed a government commander in Moiale District on
20 December. In a press release dated 22 December, the OLF
said brigade commander Muhammad Haj Inka was killed in fighting
at Bonqoji, Moiale. Fighting in Moiale District between government
forces and the OLF had also taken place in Dadacha Gaalee,
Koticha Gange and Hara Jarso, said the statement. Insecurity
had increased over the last few months in Moiale, on the Ethiopian-Kenyan
border, security sources in Addis Ababa told IRIN.
ETHIOPIA:
OLF "politically bankrupt"
NAIROBI,
28 December (IRIN) - Meanwhile, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
said the OLF had become a terrorist movement. In an interview
with the London-based 'Al-Hayat' Arabic newspaper, Meles said
the OLF had transformed itself from a revolutionary movement
into a terrorist movement - a reference to the period following
the end of the period during which Meles had entered into
a coalition government with the movement
He
called the OLF "politically bankrupt" and said it had lost
popular support. The pro-Ethiopian government Walta web site,
monitored by the BBC, said that Meles had pointed a finger
at Eritrea as playing "a key role in supporting such movements".
Eritrea was "playing with fire", said the Walta report, published
on 27 December.
In
the same interview, Meles said normalization of relations
with Eritrea would require changes bringing "democracy, transparency
and credibility" to that country, Walta said. He said the
signing of the comprehensive peace agreement had not changed
Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea at present. Meles cited
Eritrea's use of its ports of Assab and Massawa as "a tool
for blackmail". According to the Walta report, Meles said:
"If we are to move towards normalizing ties, we have to make
sure that those two ports will not be used for blackmailing
us. We have to take into account that we should either stop
using the ports altogether even after normalization of ties
or use them according to international guarantees."
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