THE CURRENT SITUATION!
Today the Ogaden National Liberation Front--which is the leading liberation movement in the region--is seeking self-determination for the seven million ethnic Somalis living there. The ONLF enjoys a relative amount of support from the Ogaden populist both within and outside the region.
In the last few years ONLF has shown significant growth in its military capabilities and has deterred foreign exploitation of the region's rich natural resources, while claiming that until a political and just solution to the Ogaden conflict occurs, the region's rich resources will remain untapped. In 2007 an ONLF attack on a Chinese-operated oil facility promoted the Ethiopian government to launch an intense counter-insurgency campaign against the ONLF and its suspected civilian population. The Ethiopian government's counter-insurgency campaign can only be described as extreme crimes against humanity.
However, the government has used policies of terror in order to deter local support for the liberation front as well as to restrict its financial support and progress. Satellite images by the American Association for the Advancement of Science confirm reports that the Ethiopian military has burned entire villages in the remote areas of the Ogaden. Furthermore, the Ethiopian government continues to deny humanitarian and media organizations access to the region. Clearly, such actions by the Ethiopian government continue to prolong the Ogaden conflict and guarantee the ongoing plight and suffering of the Somali Ogaden people.
