Desert prize in savage war

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 8

Desert prize in savage war

By BRIAN JEFFRIES, of Associated Press, through NZPA Nairobi, Kenya. A savage but secretive war involving two Marxist neighbours. Somalia and Ethiopia, is being waged in the strategic Horn of Africa for control of the Ogaden. a sun-scorched region that officially is part of Ethiopia. The roots of the conflict stretch back to the last century, when colonial Powers carved out empires in Africa and arbitrarily divided ethni-cally-related populations. Eighty years ago, the British awarded Ethiopia the Ogaden, a semi-desert plateau about the size of Cambodia that is inhabited ' almost entirely by tough nomads of Somali origin. l The nomads are Muslims whereas Ethiopia has been mostly Christian since the 4th century. Somalia claims that the Ogaden is historically part of its territory. It is openly backing guerrillas of the’ Western Somali Liberation Front who have been carrying on a hit-and-run war to wrest the Ogaden from Eth-, iopia and make it part of a. jgreater Somalia, which os-|

f tensibly would include other h territories in East Africa. J Ethiopia has charged that a full-scale invasion was launched 11 days ago by 8, regular Somali troops 1 backed by planes and tanks, i Somalia denied direct in--1 volvement. Since then, re- < ports from both sides have 3 claimed fierce fighting oyer i thousands of square kilometres. t 1 Most of the tanks and - fighter planes reported to be • in use have been provided i bv the Soviet Union and ■ United States — the two’ ■ super-Powers that with the ■ Arabs have interest in the - Horn, which overlooks the! t Red Sea shipping lanes that' f, carry much of the West’s oil I supplies. ) Ethiopia’s armed forces • 'were American-trained and > equipped until this year, i when the military regime t!t b r e w out American advisers. and Somalia’s ■ 20,000-strong forces were similarly backed by the So-j ’ viets. ■ But Somalia has fallen out i with the Kremlin over its ■ political and military sup-1 i port for Ethiopia and has rejected Soviet requests to i.give up its claims to the ' I Ogaden. I

President Siad Barre of 'Somalia now seeks military I supplies from the West which are reported to be , financed by Saudi Arabia. The United States, Britain, and France all say they are willing in principle to sup--1 ply defensive arms to Somalia. : Despite Somali denials, Western diplomats say they ■ believe Somalia has committed ground forces and armour in the Ogaden. Independent observers have been I unable to get near the fightiing for confirmation. As a result, the conflict ; remains largely a war of | words for the outside world. ■ Regular communiques issued in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and by the ■Western Somalia Liberation : Front from Mogadishu, the I Somali capital, are the main; links to the fighting. Observ-' ers believe both sides vic-i tory claims may be inflated. In escalating fighting over the last two months, the guerrillas claim to have , killed 5226 Ethiopian sol- j j diers, destroyed 23 Ethiopian planes and 32 tanks, and captured large quantities of weapons. i The Ethiopian* have not;

if issued comprehensive claims, y ! But since the reported Sot mali invasion, they say they e.have destroyed 47 Somali i. tanks and nine Somali i. planes, and killed and cape tured hundreds of Somali ■ soldiers and guerrillas. Before the military showdown. the guerrillas claimed ’j to control more than 60 per cent of the Ogaden region, which accounts for about ■ one-fourth of Ethiopia’s teri ritory. Ethiopia’s Government admitted that large areas were outside its control. U j Because of advances by I I the Liberation Front forces, j I Ethiopia boosted its regular ;army in the region and flew ’in members of its recently formed 100,000-man people’s .militia. ). Since Ethiopia began its . Ogaden counte--offensive .Itwo weeks ago, fighting has > concentrated around key r towns, which the Ethiopians > must control as springboards > for anti-guerrilia drives in . rural areas. i The most essential towns I in the north — Harar, Jijiga, f and Diredawa, which stands on the vital railway to Dji-: tibouti that carries most of

i, i Ethiopia’s imports and i- exports — are still in Ethioc pian hands. Diredawa has a li population of nearly 70,000. . i- In the south, the Somali- - backed forces claimed to ihave captured three towns with populations of a couple ..of thousand each. •jj Ethiopia is a nation of 29 r 'million people, nearly three times the Somali population. t But it is in turmoil, with re- . i bellions in at least seven of Jits 14 provinces. The Ethioe Pian leader. Lieutenant-Colo- . nel Mengistu Haile Mariani, apparently has decided to , concentrate on the Ogaden ' first. ’ The Ogaden conflict poses . a dilemma for other African States. The Organisation of .I African Unity recognises the boundaries left by departing I colonial regimes. Thus. So- ’ mafia’s prospects for open ■ backing from other African ’ States for its claims to the ' Ogaden are slim. ■ Recognition would open a ■ Pandora’s Box in Africa by giving official encouragement to other dissident groups in the continent which wish to reunite people iiof similar ethnic background who were split by colonial ’’frontiers.