Then came word from a spokesman of the misinformation ministry that there 'may' have been skirmishes in the location in the ONLF military communique. Having realized that no one was buying the regime's denials and worse ONLF was now providing details of the military encounter with body count of the Ethiopian military casualties, the head of the autocracy, Meles Zenawi, himself addressed the ONLF military communique in a delusional manner in front of the puppet Ethiopian parliament. He, Mr. Zenawi, asked rhetorically how come he was not surrounded by ONLF as well since he was with Mr. Tsehaye on the Sunday when the attack was said to have taken place?

At the time when Mr. Zenawi was engaging in rhetoric, he knew full well in his heart that Mr. Tsehaye and his entourage have escaped miraculously while many in his military have perished including high ranking officials. He also knew full well that the counter attack carried out by Ethiopian re-enforcements sent from different parts of Ogaden to Wardheer were also roundly defeated by well positioned ONLF units. Zenawi was furious with his military planners and was also said to have been saddened by the sheer number of military casualties including many from his Tigray clan. His objective in front of the puppet parliament was to put brave face on a horrible situation by lashing out on the media rather than on his own military planners.

The idea was to change subject and make it as if it was Western media's fault to report on the claims of military engagements and victories claimed by ONLF against the Ethiopian military. What was remarkable was that no Western media has fallen for the autocratic regime's gimmicks and delusional indulgence. Almost every media house reported the fact that the regime did not deny outright the ONLF military engagement and casualties. What the Western media did not know at the time was that the engagement description as provided by ONLF military communique was correct almost in every bit.

Our reporters have confirmed that Mr. Tsehaye was at the time in Wardheer meeting with the local administration on how best to implement a new policy to conscript and arm the local population in order to fight against ONLF. This policy came out a month ago when the regime's defense military argued persuasively that its military personnel were having a hard time confronting ONLF military forces who appeared to have had a far superior training and were more tenacious fighters in the Ogaden theater of operations. In order to fight ONLF effectively it was proposed that conscripting and arming the very civilian population that the regime suspected to have been aiding ONLF could help this fight. Those who proposed this policy claimed that arming the local population and playing favorites to some clans while appearing to marginalizing some could also help. Mr. Tsehaye was in Wardheer to help implement this policy.

According to our reporters in Wardheer and its environs, Mr. Tsehaye was escorted by an army of about a thousand two hundred. There were about two hundred military personnel which were not with Mr. Tsehaye's entourage but came from Caado village as a re-enforcement as there were rumors of imminent ONLF attack on Wardheer. There were also a locally trained militia allied to the Ethiopian military whose members numbering about a hundred and twenty were also asked to support Mr. Tsehaye's entourage. It is reported that an ONLF reconnaissance unit in the vicinity of Jig Jiga was able to get information about Mr. Tsehaye's itinerary.

This enabled ONLF not only to know when Mr. Tsehaye was expected in Wardheer but it allowed them to plan militarily on how to attack his entourage. It also enabled ONLF to put in place a large military force in the vicinity of Wardheer. What saved Mr. Tsehaye and appears to have prevented ONLF from harming or even capturing him is the fact that the reconnaissance unit in Jig Jiga missed in its relay the fact that the helicopter that was bringing Mr. Tsehaye was to remain grounded in Wardheer for the duration of the visit.

ONLF units that overwhelmed the large military escort accompanying Mr. Tsehaye intended to take him prisoner having thought that he would have no way of escaping via the air once they defeat his military escort. Having heard the defeat of the Ethiopian military personnel and its allied local militia in the outskirts of Wardheer, Mr. Tsehaye and a few high ranking Tigrian People's Liberation Front, TPLF, personnel escaped using the helicopter that was parked in the main military garrison. Our reporters in the area confirm that many of the high ranking military officers leading this large military units were killed in the ONLF attack which is what many believe infuriated Zenawi the most as many were related to him.

Sources within Zenawi's office confirm that he has personally ordered immediate re-enforcements to the area. It is reported it is the re-enforcements who have been handily defeated by ONLF military traps and carefully laid out mines. The traps were said to have been laid further away from Wardheer and the Ethiopian reinforcements encountered them in areas where they hardly expected hence the large number of casualties claimed by ONLF since yesterday. According to our sources within the regime, the plan for the next couple of days is to acknowledge the fight took place in Wardheer but to claim that it was between ONLF and local militias as if to make it look like the local civilians are or were resisting ONLF on their own.

Military experts in the horn interviewed for this analysis who did not want to be on the record contend that this recent Ethiopian military failure in the hands of an ONLF force numbering in the high hundreds in one place is likely to further demoralize not only the Ethiopian military personnel involved but also the TPLF leadership. They add that having blockaded the entire Ogaden for the past six months and still having encountered an ONLF force not only numbering in the high hundreds but also being heavily armed helps those in the regime who counseled against the Ogaden blockade in the first place.

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Ogaden Online Editorial
Oct 24, 2007

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