Ogaden rebels claim army attacked
A rebel group in eastern Ethiopia, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, says it has carried out an attack on government troops.
There is no confirmation of the attack either from the Ethiopian government or from independent sources.
An ONLF statement said its forces had killed 140 soldiers during the battle near the town of Wardheer.
It said an unnamed senior Ethiopian official was visiting the area when the ONLF staged its attack.
The authorities have barred aid workers and journalists from going to the eastern Ogaden region since the ONLF began a new offensive earlier this year.
Last week, aid agencies reached an agreement with the government in Addis Ababa to provide emergency supplies for civilians in the region.
The ONLF was founded in 1984 and is fighting for independence from Ethiopia, complaining of discrimination by the central government against the region's Somali-speaking nomads.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7055081.stm
