ADDIS ABABA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy
in Ethiopia on Tuesday confirmed that a group of gunmen attacked a Chinese oil
company's premises in Ethiopia's Somali state, causing heavy casualties.
Nine Chinese workers were killed in the attack, said
Xu Shuang, acting manager of the Chinese oil company.
Seven other Chinese workers were kidnapped by the
gunmen, who also killed 65 Ethiopian employees working for the Zhongyuan
Petroleum Exploration Bureau under the China Petroleum & Chemical
Corporation, added Xu.
Later on Tuesday in a statement, the rebel group
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed responsibility for the attack,
saying their targets were Ethiopian soldiers guarding the premises.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu
Jianchao said, "The Chinese government strongly condemns this atrocious armed
attack, mourns for the Chinese and Ethiopian victims and expresses deep
sympathies to their families and those injured in the attack."
Liu said China has asked Ethiopia to take concrete
and effective measures to ensure personnel and property safety of Chinese
agencies in the country and help resolve problems arising from the attack.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has ordered
immediate reinforcements, including helicopters, to the area.
At around 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday, about 200
gunmen launched a sudden attack on the company's premises, which is located in
Abole, a small town about 120 km away from Jijiga, Xu said.
After a fierce exchange of fire, the gunmen briefly
took control of the premises with 37 Chinese workers and more than 120 Ethiopian
employees. The shootout lasted for about 50 minutes.
The Ethiopian troops have recovered the premises and
a military helicopter has carried the bodies of the Chinese victims to the
state's capital Jijiga, according to Xu.
The Chinese company has chartered an airplane in
China to fetch the bodies of the nine Chinese workers back home.
The ONLF, formed in 1984 and operating in the Ogaden
region of the Somali State which borders with Somalia, took up arms against the
Ethiopian government in the early 1990s, demanding independence for Ogaden.
Last year, the rebel group warned an Indian company
to give up its plans for gas in the region.
ADDIS ABABA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed responsibility on Tuesday for attacking an oil exploration field in the eastern Somali state.
"The oil facility has been completely destroyed," the ONLF said in a statement. Full story
BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday
strongly condemned a violent armed attack on a Chinese oil company site in
Ethiopia's Somali state.
Nine Chinese and a number of Ethiopians working for
the company were killed while seven other Chinese were kidnapped in the attack
by more than 200 unidentified gunmen, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Liu Jianchao. Full story
ADDIS ABABA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- A group of unidentified
gunmen attacked a Chinese oil company's working field in Ethiopia's Somalia
state early Tuesday morning, and there were casualties, an official from the
Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia confirmed on Tuesday. Full story
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