November 11,
2008: Earlier this month Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Task Force issued a warning
of "an imminent terrorist attack." The warning is similar to those issued by
the governments of Kenya and Uganda. Ethiopia is concerned about resistance by
the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Uganda and Kenya focused on attacks from
Somali Islamists. Ethiopia is also a target for Somali Islamists.
November 7,
2008: The Ethiopian government claimed it had killed a senior military
commander in the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Legesse Wegi. The government has
accused Wegi of being involved in a dozen terrorist attacks since 1993. The
government claimed Wegi was "lured" into a farm house and then was killed by
"locals in cooperation with security forces." There is of course no independent
verification of the operation.
October 30,
2008: The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed its fighters in Ogaden had killed 20 Ethiopian Army
troops. The ONLF statement also claimed that ONLF guerrillas had destroyed
three Ethiopian military vehicles and wounded "hundreds." The government and
the ONLF have been trading claims of victories for several weeks.
October 27,
2008: Eritrea said that it wants "the restoration" of good relations with
Djibouti, based on "full respect of territorial integrity." That could mean a
lot of things – and one of them is Eritrea still claims Djiboutian territory.
October 26,
2008: The UN regards the Eritrea-Djibouti border conflict as a hotspot that
could lead to a bigger conflict in the Red Sea littoral, and considers the
situation "volatile and fragile." That's a good description. The UN condemned Eritrea after Eritrea
attacked Djibouti and killed over 40 Dbjiboutian soldiers. The UN statement
followed one by the government of Djibouti that included the warning that
Eritrea could interdict shipping routes in the Red Sea. The US has around 1200
soldiers and support personnel in Djibouti, serving with Coalition Joint Task
Force- Horn of Africa.
October 23,
2008: The US State Department claimed that Eritrea is providing safe harbor for
member's of Somalia's Al-Shabab Islamist organization. The US considers Al-Shabab
to be a terrorist organization.
October 16,
2008: Ethiopia said that its 4,000 troops would remain in Somalia until the
African Union (AU) peacekeeping force is "fully deployed" (meaning 8,000
troops). At the moment the AU has around 3000 troops in Somalia.
