Rebels approach Ethiopian govt
2005-07-19 14:54
Addis Ababa - A separatist group on Tuesday offered to open peace talks with the government in an effort to end a low-level conflict in the lawless Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, which wants an independent state for ethnic Somalis who are the majority in the region, issued a statement saying it wanted talks in a neutral country and with an international mediator.
Ethiopia's government would "respond positively" provided the rebels lay down their arms, according to a statement released by the foreign affairs ministry.
The development comes after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi exchanged letters with Ogaden's community and clan elders in a bid to secure peace in the impoverished, desert-like region.
The Muslim rebels have fought for the secession of the Ogaden region, an area the size of Britain and with four million people, since the early 1990s. It makes occasional hit and run attacks against government troops.
United States forces have helped Ethiopian troops in anti-terror training in Ogaden, which has a long porous border with anarchic Somalia.
Last year, United States justice officials said Somali refugee Nuradin Abdi received military-style training in Ogaden before joining admitted al-Qaeda member Iyman Faris in Columbus, Ohio, in a foiled plot to blow up an unspecified shopping mall.
- AP