The transitional President of Somalia narrowly survived an assassination attempt when a car bomb exploded near the country's parliament building in Baidoa. (More on this below)
Click here for Video of Brig. General Hailu Gonfa and Col. Gemechu Ayana's Interview
Two senior Ethiopian Army officers who recently joined the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) abandoning the TPLF regime said that serving the repressive regime is a historical crime.In an interview with Eritrean Television, Brig. General Hailu Gonfa, who was a senior official in the Ethiopian Defense Ministry and Col. Gemechu Ayana, commander of the 8th Mechanized Force said that the Ethiopian people have gone through untold suffering over the past 15 years and that they have been repeatedly putting forth demands to alter such a state of affairs but to no avail. The two senior army officers went on to say that as their demand fell on deaf ears, they were compelled to raise up arms against the regime and thus join the popular struggle.
They stressed that the Army being part of the people should serve a popularly elected government and not individuals. The two officers further pointed out that as the majority of members the Ethiopian Army have come to understand this way of thinking, they are being subjected to heinous repression on the part of TPLF cadres.Stating that the regime is making futile attempts to pit the Ethiopian people against one another on the basis of nationality, ethnicity and regionalism so as to prevent them from fostering unity, Brig. General Hailu Gonfa disclosed that this same divisive policy is being practiced by cadres within the Army who have no sense of patriotism at all.
defeat of the TPLF in the 2005 elections, Col. Gemechu Ayana emphasized on his part that serving this illegal clique is a historical crime, and as such it is naпve to think that such a brutal regime would change its ways.In a message they conveyed to the Ethiopian people, the two senior Army officers called on the population to continue their resistance in an intensified manner. They particularly reminded the country’s Armed Forces to direct their weapons against the bloodthirsty regime.
Islamists accuse Ethiopia of Baidoa blasts
The leader of executive council of Islamic Courts Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed accused the Ethiopian government of being behind today’s bomb explosions that targeted the cars of president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed just as he finished an speech to the parliamentarians in Baidoa city, the temporarily capital of the UN recognized transitional federal government. Two cars full of explosives have blown off outside of the parliament hall killing at least 11 people most of president’s body guards and injuring dozens more. President’s driver and Colonel Abdisalan Yusuf Ahmed who was Yusuf’s brother were among the dead, government officials said. The president escaped unharmed.(More...)Convicted Criminals Released Due to Prison Overcrowding
(Adebabay)prison overcrowding is worrying the EPRDF leaders. Thus, recently they have released hundreds of prisoners who were convicted of theft and murder. According to inside sources, the number of political prisoners has risen sharply. Prisons in Addis, Oromiya and Amhara regions are becoming overcrowded. One short term solution devised by the EPRDF is to release other prisoners convicted of theft and murder. Inside sources confirm that only a few of them get an official pardon from the President. Many of them, however, are released after pledgeing their support to the government and promising to assist in their capacity. Source say some of these released individuals become plain close spies.(More...)
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Havana summit opens with attacks on US, defense of Iran..in a related story..Ethiopian PM hails Havana summit
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