afrol News, 3 September - The leadership of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) based in Ethiopia’s eastern region has declared a temporal cease fire.

The group said the cease fire was meant to allow a fact-finding mission by the United Nations agencies to take place. During the period, all offensive military operations by the rebel would be halted.

In a statement, the ONLF urges the UN mission to visit all parts of Ogaden in their bid to investigate war crimes instead of limiting themselves to a few areas approved by the Ethiopian government.

Over the months, accessing information relating to the Ogaden crisis has been hampered by lack of independent sources, underdevelopment and remoteness.

Last week, the head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Fidele Sarassoro, led a group of other UN bodies to conduct a humanitarian fact-finding mission in Ethiopia in the troubled region.

The mission’s major role is to assess the humanitarian needs in the region so that it can give a clear and true picture of the situation. In the end, the UN mission will establish several claims of human rights violations perpetrated by the warring parties in Ogaden.

Ogaden has been the centre of armed clashes between forces loyal to the government and the ONLF rebels and both sides have been accusing each other of committing gross violations of human rights.

The Ethiopian government had expelled the International Committee of Red Cross, accusing it of collaboration with the rebels.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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