Rebel group denies attack on MSF staff

The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) last week said it had no doubt that it was the Ethiopian government that carried out the attack on members of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) on Jijiga-Degeh Bur road in eastern Ethiopia on 7 February. The 'Hadas Eritrea' newspaper quoted a statement from ONLF as saying that it was the government which carried out such acts and "did not only target the Ogadeni people and NGOs, but other people in other parts of Ethiopia, as well as in the neighbouring countries". It called on the international community and NGOs to "safeguard" the security of their employees and noted that the humanitarian assistance to the area should not be hampered by "this wicked act carried out by the Ethiopian regime". The Ethiopian government blames the ONLF for the attack, the third in the last 12 months in which humanitarian actors have been targetted. The MSF car was on its way from Jijiga to Degeh Bur town when a group of 10 heavily armed men jumped out of the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The driver was killed on the spot, the expatriate received one bullet in the chest and another in the side, and the third person had a superficial wound. The agency has since suspended operations in the area.