The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an Ethiopian rebel group operating in eastern Ethiopia, said today that its fighters have killed 626 Woyanne regime troops in latest fighting since Nov. 10, 2009. ONLF sent the following military communique to Ethiopian Review:
The Ogaden National Liberation Front’s latest multi-front offensive, which began on 10 November 2009, has resulted in a total of 626 Woyanne regime troops killed thus far. Among the killed are twelve field officers.
The ONLF has captured sensitive intelligence gathering material including communications monitoring equipment.
ONLF casualties were minimal given that our forces had the element of surprise on all fronts.
A significant amount of military hardware has been captured or destroyed including small
arms, ammunition, and communications equipment. Military grade maps have also been captured. A total of 4 large military transport vehicles have been destroyed.
ONLF field commanders are encouraging scattered regime troops still in the vicinity to surrender. They will be treated humanely and those wishing to be transferred to our allies the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) will receive safe passage to OLF units.
A significant number of civilians are now receiving medical care from ONLF units. Our forces have also freed Somali civilians which were detained in several of the regimes barracks taken by our forces during this operation. Many of those civilians show signs of torture.
The bodies of the regimes troops are still scattered on the battlefield in places such as Obolka where they present a health hazard to the local Somali community. Military operations are still ongoing.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — The 46 detainees who are currently on trial after being accused by the tribal junta in Ethiopia of trying to overthrow the regime have told the court on Friday that they are being savagely beaten up by security personnel.
One of the accused, Ato Asaminew Tsige, told the court that he has lost sight in one eye from the beatings.
Upon hearing Ato Asaminew’s claim, family members started to cry loudly, prompting the judges to remove every one from the court room except the accused, the prosecutors, the defense lawyers, the police, and some journalists.
Ato Asaminew asked the court to appoint an independent physician to give the detainees medical treatment and investigate the tortures.
An official representing the prison denied the torture charge. The judges hearing the case told the detainees to file their complaints in writing.
More by Tamiru Tsige, a correspondent for The Reporter:
BEIJING (CNN) — Large African communities are forming in China, from Guangzhou to Beijing. Many of the migrants are traders and entrepreneurs hoping to make a profit by sending China’s cheap manufactured goods back home.
Ethiopian David Bekele is searching for space to open a new restaurant in Beijing. “Almost every African country has an embassy here in Beijing,” says Bekele. “There’s a huge number of students from Africa who come on scholarships funded by the Chinese government. And there are a lot businessmen come from Africa to buy goods and do trading.”
Beijing’s first Ethiopian restaurant, Ras Ethiopian Cuisine, was opened on March 6, 2008.
As U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao and the highest-ranking members of the Chinese Politburo, one has to wonder if he is sizing up the competition.
China appears to be leaving the United States in the dust by taking off on a global shopping spree from South America to the Middle East and especially Africa. The question is, can the U.S. keep up and does it want to?
The presidents did not address Africa in their joint statements on Tuesday in Beijing, but no doubt it is on both of their agendas.
So far this year, Obama has stopped in Ghana and Egypt while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrapped a seven-nation African tour in August.
Hu has stopped in Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius while Premier Wen Jiabao just attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Cairo. Among other things, he pledged $10 billion in loans to developing African countries. That is double what China promised at the same forum in 2006.
Wen emphasized that China is taking another step forward with its relationships with African countries. “This represents a new stage of development in relations with Africa,” he said earlier this month.
So far this year, China’s foreign direct investment in Africa is up 77.5 percent. China’s trade with Africa has multiplied 10 times in the last decade to more than $107 billion.
If anyone is keeping score, some analysts say the U.S. is behind.
“To my mind, the U.S. is already on the backfoot in Africa,” says David Kelly, Professor of China Studies at University of Technology Sydney. “The American public may not be terribly aware but basically most of Africa thinks it’s a great thing that China has come into the game, not necessarily because of the public goods that China provides or those alone, (but) because it must force America to raise its game.”
As the son of a Kenyan, Obama may have won African hearts, but it is China’s deep pockets that have been winning over African governments.
In the last few years, China has struck deal after deal with African countries, often buying natural resources in exchange for building infrastructure and providing loans. It is typical that the roads, hospitals, schools and more must be built primarily by Chinese workers.
In Gabon, the Chinese recently financed $800 million in railways, dams and ports in exchange for access to iron ore.
Critics say China’s actions have propped up dictatorships in Zimbabwe and Sudan. The Chinese have been supporting oil production in Sudan for years. China International Fund, a little-known Chinese company, reportedly signed a $7 billion mining deal with Guinea’s repressive military regime.
In response to criticism, Wen recently stated, “There has long been the argument that China is plundering Africa’s resources … Anyone who is familiar with history would know that the friendly relations and cooperation between China and Africa did not start just yesterday but as early as half a century ago. In those years, we helped Africa build the Tanzara railway and sent to Africa large numbers of medical teams. But we did not take away a single drop of oil or a single ton of mineral ores from Africa.”
Some leaders of African countries have indicated Africa will take money from anyone who is giving.
“Foreign direct investment has no fixed allegiance or nationality – it goes where it is most welcome,” said Ghanaian president John Atta Mills at a recent conference in Washington.
While China’s relationship with Africa strengthens, analysts say the United States may be too focused on the Middle East and, ironically this week, China to notice. Previous U.S. administrations placed Africa relatively high on their list of priorities. President George W. Bush’s heavy investment in HIV and AIDS prevention on the continent is largely considered a success.
In early October, Obama supported a $3.5 billion hunger and food security initiative focused on agriculture over the next three years in developing countries. Much of the money is intended for Africa. However, at this stage Obama’s Africa strategy has yet to be solidified.
But the vast opportunities in Africa are not without challenges. Poverty, corruption and instability are constantly changing the game. The question is how the U.S. and China choose to play.
Some analysts say Africa gives the U.S. and China a chance not necessarily to compete, but to cooperate and to make vital changes on a developing continent. Zha Daojiong, Professor of International Relations at Peking University, says the U.S. and China should consider working together on humanitarian issues including health care and food security.
“I think it is a meaningful issue for both governments to discuss,” says Zha. “Clearly there is a great potential there. We should put the interests of the African people in the center of these considerations.”
Facebook has become the most preferred way of keeping in touch with friends and establishing new friendships for many Ethiopians in the Diaspora. It is therefore necessary to learn more about this new means of communication, particularly the risks involved. The following are helpful tips by Newsweek and NBC:
Every day tens of millions of people log on to Facebook, the popular social-network site, and spend time playing goofy online games. But watch out. Some people playing these games are getting fleeced by scammers, tricked into signing up for products and services they didn’t want.
Worse yet, this isn’t happening by accident. The companies that develop games for Facebook make big money by selling ad space—some of it to scammers.
This week, Silicon Valley blogger Michael Arrington caused a ruckus by suggesting that Facebook itself has been turning a blind eye to the scams because it is sharing in the spoils. Arrington, who runs the influential TechCrunch blog, is on a crusade to pressure Facebook to clean up its act.
“Ultimately this is Facebook’s fault,” Arrington says. He says the social-networking site isn’t enforcing its own rules against scam ads. “It’s like with Major League Baseball and steroids. If the rules aren’t enforced, which is what’s happening on Facebook, then people are going to break the rules. Facebook needs to stop this.”
Here’s five tips to protect yourself from scams:
* If you don’t know the sender – don’t open it! Booby-trapped attachments are often disguised in clever thank you notes or e-greetings.
* Watch out for emails that request personal information. No legitimate organization will ask for your social security number.
* Be careful with e-mails that look like they are from PayPal, Facebook, or other popular sites. Often these emails are linked to a third-party site that make them look official, but are actually run by thieves or scammers. Instead, just type the Web site’s address directly into your browser.
* Watch for typos or spelling mistakes. Scam artists are street smart, but many have flunked basic grammar. If the email has multiple typos or grammatical errors, odds are it’s not real.
* Watch for red-flag phrases, like “You have won!” or “Verify your account.” Genuine firms never send e-mails like that.
ASMARA — Police officers and soldiers under Ethiopia’s Woyanne regime continue to abandon their units and return to their homes, and many are defecting to Eritrea. This week, Ginbot 7 Radio has reported that 1,500 police officers failed to report for duty in the past few weeks. Today, Ethiopian Review’s correspondent in Asamara is reporting that 5 soldiers have recently defected to Eritrea.
The soldiers are complaining that there is no national Ethiopian army. The armed forces in Ethiopia are completely dominated by one minority ethnic group from Tigray, and the army is serving not the national interest of Ethiopia, but the interest of the ruling tribal junta.
The 5 soldiers who have just arrived in Eritrea are Corporal Berhanu Hailu from the Northern Command’s 21st Division, Corporal Tilahun Debula from Northern Command’s 11th Division, Private Bizualem Shiferraw from the Northern Command’s 14th Division, Private Kelila Hassan from the Nothern Command’s 11th Division, and Private Sisay Tesfaye from the Nothern Command’s 14th Division.
