The raid on Abole oil exploration facility occurred in the early morning of 24 April 2007, when insurgents of the

Ogaden National Liberation Front The Ogaden National Liberation Front, abbreviated ONLF, (, JWXO; ) is a Somali nationalist armed and political organization seeking self-determination for the Somali-inhabited Ogaden (Somali region) of eastern Ethiopia. Founded in 1984 by forme ...

(ONLF) attacked the oil exploration facility in the town of

Abole Abole (also known as Obole) is a town northwest of Degehabur, in the Somali Region (also known as Ogaden) of Ethiopia. On April 24, 2007 an attack on an oil facility in the town by the rebel ONLF The Ogaden National Liberation Front, abbrevia ...

, northwest of

Degehabur Degehabur () is a town in the region of Somali galbeed in Ethiopia. It is located in the Jarar Zone of Somali galbeed. Degehabur sits at 1044 meters above sea level. The town is the administrative center of Degehabur woreda. The Degehabur ...

, in the

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. The facility was operated by Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB), a subsidiary of the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) which was contracted on behalf of Malaysian oil and gas multinational

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

Background

Before the raid on Abole

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

, the

(ONLF) had made explicit threats against foreign companies working with the Ethiopian government to exploit the natural resources of the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

. Just after the full scale Ethiopian invasion of Somalia began in December 2006, the ONLF issued a statement declaring its solidarity with the anti-Ethiopian insurgency in Somalia, and along with other armed groups in Ethiopia - escalated the insurgency in the Ogaden in response to the invasion.

Raid

Chinese oil workers present estimated about 200 fighters participated in the attack. 65 to 74 Ethiopian troops were killed in the attack, along with nine Chinese workers on site at the time. The ONLF stated that the attack had been launched to prevent the '

colonialist Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

' Ethiopian government from exploiting the

regions natural resources. The day of the attack a spokesman for the ONLF in London announced:

"We have warned the Chinese government and the Ethiopian government that... they don't have a right to drill there...Unfortunately nobody heeds our warning and we have to defend our territorial integrity."

The Abole attack came just as Ethiopian forces across the border in the Somali capital

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

were involved in fierce fighting with insurgents. The Ethiopian government claimed

Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union () was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006, the Islamic Courts had expanded ...

fighters fought alongside the ONLF during the attack on the refinery.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abole oil exploration facility raid Insurgency in Ogaden 2007 crimes in Ethiopia April 2007 in Ethiopia Military raids Military operations involving Ethiopia Conflicts in 2007 China–Ethiopia relations Ethiopia–Malaysia relations Attacks on energy sector

Background

Raid

See also

References

External links