2007 – 08 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden The 2007 – 2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a campaign involving the Ethiopian Army on the offensive against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front ( ONLF ) . The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed 74 people in an attack on a Chinese - run oil exploration field in April 2007 . The main military operations were centered around the towns of Degehabur , Kebri Dahar , Werder and Shilavo in Ogaden , which are in the Ethiopia n Somali Region . The area is home to the Ogaden clan , seen as the bedrock of support to the ONLF . According to Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) , various human rights abuses were committed by the Ethiopian military and ONLF rebels . Background . Insurgency . Ethiopia ' s eastern Somali Region , whose major part constitutes the Ogaden , is the site of a long - running , low - intensity armed conflict between the Ethiopian government and the ONLF . Formed in 1984 , many of the ONLF ' s members had supported Somalia in the Ogaden War with Ethiopia over the region in the 1970s . The group ' s aims have varied over time from independence to joining a " greater Somalia " or obtaining greater autonomy within Ethiopia . Timeline . On October 21 , 2007 , an ONLF statement said its forces had killed 250 soldiers during the battle near the town of Werder . There was no confirmation of the attack either from the Ethiopian government or from independent sources . On November 4 , the ONLF claimed that up to 270 Ethiopian soldiers had been killed in clashes between October 26 and November 1 . Once again , the claim could not be independently verified . On November 16 , 2007 , the Ethiopian army claimed to have killed 100 ONLF fighters during the past month , and to have captured hundreds more . On November 18 , 2007 , the ONLF reported that the Ethiopian air force had carpet bombed villages and nomadic settlements the Ogaden region , killing up to a dozen civilians . An ONLF spokesman also said that some ONLF fighters were hurt in the air bombardments , but the air force targeted civilian settlements and livestock . The Ethiopian government denied these reports on November 20 . On November 28 , 2007 , Ogaden residents described continued abuses on the part of the military , but also said that aid delivery had improved . UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said the humanitarian situation in Ogaden as " potentially serious " but not yet catastrophic . Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis " didn ' t exist . Doesn ' t exist . Will not exist . " In January 2009 , the foreign relations chief Mohammed Sirad was killed by Ethiopian security forces at the town of Danan as he met with other ONLF members . Reportedly this has led to the ONLF splitting into two factions , with one group allied to current ONLF chairman Mohammed Omar Osman , and the other led by senior leader Abdiwali Hussein Gas , who appointed Salahudin Ma ' ow as the new ONLF chairman and declared that he will " bring Mohammed Omar Osman to court " . Allegations of human rights abuses . Abuses perpetrated by the Ethiopian military . Ethiopia ' s military campaign has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis , according to several humanitarian organisations . According to Human Rights Watch , civilians in the Somali region were trapped between the warring parties . HRW learned that dozens of civilians have been killed in what appears to be a deliberate effort to mete out collective punishment against a civilian population suspected of sympathizing with the rebels . Refugees fleeing the crackdown told stories of widespread violence , with entire villages being destroyed along with arbitrary theft , rape and murder by Ethiopian soldiers . In October 2007 , " The Independent " reported that the situation in Ogaden had begun to mirror the Darfur conflict , with refugees stating that government troops had burned villages and raped and killed civilians . Earlier in the month , Human Rights Watch had told the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health that " the Ogaden is not Darfur . But the situation in Ogaden follows a frighteningly familiar pattern " , while recognizing that " Ethiopia has legitimate and serious domestic and regional security concerns " . Also , the United Nations advocacy director for Human Rights Watch has called Ogaden a " mini - Darfur " . Human Rights Watch says it has documented dozens of cases of severe abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden , including gang rapes , burned villages and what it calls " demonstration killings , " like hanging and beheading of populace , meant to terrorize the population . Forceful draft of civilians . Several Ethiopian refugees and international organizations reported in December 2007 that the Ethiopian military , strained by its deployment in Somalia , was forcing local civilians ( including government employees and health workers ) to fight alongside troops against the ONLF rebels . According to the same reports , these under - equipped and poorly trained militias suffered heavy casualties in several battles . One Western aid official said soldiers barged into hospitals to draft recruits and threatened to jail health workers if they did not comply . In other cases , lists of names were posted on public bulletin boards , ordering government employees to report for duty , according to a current member of the regional parliament and two Ethiopian administrators who have fled the country . Many of those who refused were fired , jailed and in some cases tortured , the administrators and parliament member said . Ethiopian officials denied the charges , claiming that local tribes were willingly forming defense groups against the ONLF . Several United Nations officials and Western diplomats said they were discussing the militia program in private meetings , but contended they could not comment publicly for fear of provoking the ire of the Ethiopian government , resulting in a possible suspension of humanitarian efforts in the region . Expulsions of humanitarian agencies . Large segments of the region were inaccessible to outside agencies as Ethiopian troops attempted to suppress the rebel insurgency . On November 6 , the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ) announced opening an aid facility in the Ogaden region . The U . N . has also called for an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by Ethiopian forces in the region . Government troops are fighting ONLF rebels who want more autonomy for their region . Médecins Sans Frontières is among the 12 organizations that have received permission to work in Ogaden , while the ICRC is still barred from working in the region . The Eritrea and Somalia factors . Experts say the ONLF was active in the Somali capital Mogadishu during 2006 while that city was controlled by the Islamic Courts Union , and that some Islamist fighters may have fled to Ogaden after they were ousted from Mogadishu .