There are reports of clashes between the separatists of the ONFL and the regular Ethiopian army in Ethiopia’s eastern region of Ogaden, which is mostly inhabited by Somalis. Local sources said that thirty people, mostly regular soldiers, were killed in the fighting near the towns of Shilabo and Warder, along the border with Somalia. The traffic, on the roads that connect the two countries, was halted in the past few hours on account of the violence. Fighting between the ONFL and the army has increased since last April, when the separatists – armed against the central government since the early 1990’s – have attacked some oil wells managed by a Chinese company, leaving 77 dead. The Ethiopian reaction, involving the intervention of ground troops and aerial bombardment and prime minister Meles Zenawi’s decision to prohibit access to humanitarian workers, has made the living conditions of the civilian population even more difficult. [AB]