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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Ethiopia blamed its rival Eritrea yesterday for an attack on a Chinese-owned oil exploration field that killed 74 people, raising tensions between the neighbors who have yet to resolve a border issue following the end of a two-year war in 2000.
The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front, which has been linked to Eritrea in the past, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, which killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese. At least six Chinese workers also were kidnapped, said Xu Shuang, general manager of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau's Ethiopia operation. The rebels, ethnic Somalis who have been fighting for independence since 1984, have warned against any investment in eastern Ethiopia that could benefit the US-allied government. "Hand-in-glove with the Eritrean government, which hates to see Ethiopia's development, the terrorist forces in the region have acted out this horrendous act of terror," Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry said on its website yesterday. It called on the UN to take action against Eritrea. Abdullahi Hassan, president of the region in Ethiopia where the attack occurred, said the attackers were wearing Eritrean military uniforms. Eritrea issued an angry denial, with Information Minister Ali Abdu calling it was "a habitual nonsense statement" from Ethiopia. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war. A truce ended the two-year border war in 2000, but the boundary between the countries has yet to be fixed. The dawn raid was the deadliest in a string of attacks against Chinese interests in Africa in recent months. China's trade with Africa has grown fourfold this decade to reach $40 billion in 2005. But Beijing's interests in Africa have come at a price. Sixteen Chinese were kidnapped in three separate incidents this year in Nigeria, where gunmen are seeking greater control of oil revenues |
