ETHIOPIA: FIVE NGO WORKERS KIDNAPPED IN SOMALI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000130

SIPDIS

AF/E FOR JOEL WIEGERT, AF/RSA FOR LEARNED DEES
DRL FOR SIMONE JOSEPH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SMIG EAID ASEC ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: FIVE NGO WORKERS KIDNAPPED IN SOMALI
REGION AND RELEASED THREE DAYS LATER

REF: 09 ADDIS ABABA 3067

Classified By: CDA John Yates for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) According to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ethiopia, five Ethiopian
employees of a British NGO were kidnapped in the Somali
Regional State on January 15, by individuals claiming to be
members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF),and
were released on January 18. The kidnappers reportedly told
the captives the kidnapping was intended to ensure previous
ONLF warnings against humanitarian workers were taken
seriously, and OCHA views the episode as a clear signal that
the ONLF intends to broadly target humanitarian actors in the
Somali region. The workers, all ethnic Somalis, evidently
were not mistreated, but the kidnappers reportedly told them
they would have been killed had they been "highlanders,"
(i.e., non-Somali Ethiopians). Kidnapping would represent a
significant change in ONLF tactics, and some USAID partners
active in the region accordingly do not believe the ONLF is
responsible. No group has claimed responsibility for the
kidnapping. Elsewhere in the Somali region, leaflets with
ONLF markings have appeared that threaten the May 2010
elections. End summary.

OCHA Reports Five Humanitarian Workers Kidnapped
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2. (C) Acting OCHA Chief Amy Martin (strictly protect) told
PolOff five Ethiopian staff members of the British NGO
Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin) operating as
a mobilQhealth team in Bargun kebele of Gode woreda (near
Denan and East Imi woredas) were kidnapped by the ONLF on
January 15. (Note: This is the first incident of this type
in Gode woreda, which has generally been considered safe and
has been visited by Mission staff in recent months. End
note.) According to OCHA, the Merlin employees' vehicle was
burned along with all their supplies, but no money or
personal belongings were stolen. The employees reportedly
were taken into the bush by their captors and were returned
on January 18 to Gabias kebele of Gode woreda (also near
Denan). As a result, Merlin has suspended operations in the
Somali Regional State.


3. (C) According to OCHA, the kidnappers identified
themselves to their captives as ONLF members. The kidnappers
reportedly told them they had acted because the ONLF warnings
of several weeks earlier (reftel) had not been heeded.
(Note: At the time of reftel threat, OCHA believed it to be
limited to the World Food Program's (WFP) operations in the
Somali region. The WFP responded to the threat by suspending
operations in four zones: Fik, Warder, Degehabur, and
Korahe, but not/not Gode. The regional government responded
by imposing a curfew in Jijiga and dramatically increasing
security around government offices. End note.) OCHA views
the kidnapping as a clear sign that the ONLF is now broadly
targeting humanitarian personnel rather than the UN or WFP
alone. The captives told OCHA they were not mistreated but
added that their captors claimed that if they had been
highlanders (rather than ethnic Somalis),they would have
been killed.


4. (C) Note: In email correspondence provided to PolOff by
Acting OCHA Chief, OCHA's Somali Region office initially
reported this kidnapping was "supposedly" carried out by the
ONLF, and later stated the ONLF "was responsible." However,
U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) partners
who are active in Gode woreda question whether the captors
were actually ONLF, especially given that OFDA implementing
partner CHF insists the ONLF is not/not widely present in
Gode. CHF and other OFDA partners are continuing operations
in Gode as normal. End Note.

ONLF Posts Leaflets Threatening to Disrupt Elections
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5. (SBU) Multiple USAID sources reported that during the last
week of December and first week of January, leaflets with
overt ONLF markings were posted in Kebredehar warning that
the ONLF planned to disrupt the May 2010 elections. The

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pamphlets stated the elections would not be legitimate, and
warned voters against participating.

Comment
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6. (C) Over the past six months, Post has received increasing
reports from humanitarian actors in the Somali Regional State
that the ONLF has either directly threatened them or they
have noticed a perceivable cooling in relations. Some
believe the threats are designed to force the WFP and NGOs to
negotiate an end to the Ethiopian government requirement that
they be accompanied by Ethiopian military escorts (which the
ONLF deeply resents). Others believe the threats are
serious, and indicate the ONLF has shifted tactics and now
considers non-Somali humanitarian actors in the same vein as
non-Somali investors, whom it has fatally targeted in the
past. End comment.
YATES