Abole oil field raid

Abole oil field raid

Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Somali region.
Location Abole, Somali Region, Ethiopia
Date April 24, 2007
6:00 am[1] (UTC+3)
Target Abole oil field
Deaths 65 Ethiopian workers
9 Chinese workers
7 Chinese workers taken hostage.
Non-fatal injuries
 Unknown
Perpetrators Ogaden National Liberation Front

The Abole oil field raid occurred in the early morning of April 24, 2007, when gunmen of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked a Chinese oil company's premises in the town of Abole, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Degehabur, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. 74 Ethiopian soldiers, including nine Chinese workers working for the Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau under the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), were killed.[2][3][4]

The attack shocked the public, and many became worried it might push away foreign investors from coming to the country. Most of the dead were soldiers but it included some members of the Ethiopian security officials. This was one of the largest single attack committed by ONLF.[5]

The Abole attack came just as Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu were involved in fierce fighting with Somali insurgents.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "China strongly condemns attack on Chinese oil company site in Ethiopia". Embassy of People's Republic of China in the United States of America. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  2. ↑ "A letter sent to BBC by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of FDRE". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. 2007-04-30. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  3. ↑ "Scores die in Ethiopia oil attack". BBC News. 2007-04-24. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  4. ↑ "9 Chinese workers killed by gunmen in Ethiopia's Somali state". Xinhua News Agency. 2007-04-24. Archived from the original on 11 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  5. ↑ "Ethiopia:Oil companies suspend operations". Garowe Online. 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  6. ↑ "Collective Punishment: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State". Human Rights Watch. June 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.

External links

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