The Ethiopian regimes army has carried out a wanton massacre in the village of Mooyaha near the town of Ararso 50 Km north west of Dagahbur, Ogaden on the 17th of December 2008.

The Ethiopian troops rounded up the villagers and started gunning them down  indiscriminately. Forty eight (48) civilians mostly comprised of children women and elderly men died on the spot and at least fifty (50) are gravely wounded. The worrying factor in this callous act is that there were no ONLF forces in the area to justify an attack on the village making this a deliberate and planned execution style massacre. On the same day, the Ethiopian regimes army also killed six civilians in Galalshe town near Fik.

The Ethiopian troops have now sealed off the area and are preventing surrounding communities from coming to aid  their compatriots with the wounded and to bury the dead. They are working hard to eliminate the evidence of this massacre.

The ONLF believes this is the beginning of a new round of genocide in the Ogaden where there has been an increase civilian attacks by the Ethiopian regime including attacks using assault helicopters against civilian targets.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) calls upon the United Nations to send an urgent mission to the village and investigate this massacre while providing necessary aid to the remaining survivors.

Furthermore, the ONLF calls upon the Security Council to hold the Ethiopian regime of Meles Zenawi accountable for its crimes against Humanity and Genocide in Ogaden. The ONLF is once again informing the world that Genocide continues in Ogaden and further delays in a direct international intervention will result in the continued loss of innocent civilian lives.

Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)