[Nethra K Putti]

ETHIOPIA DEADLINE FOR RED CROSS

The Red Cross has been given 7 days to leave the Ogaden region bordering Somalia by the Ethopian government.

The ICRC has been carrying out water & sanitation projects there.

An Army crackdown in the area after a series of rebel attacks has restricted the movement of essential goods.

The Rebel Group the Ogaden National Liberation movement, accuses the government of blockading the region, & producing "man-made femine".

The New York Times carried an article saying that Ethiopian troops were preventing emergency aid reaching the mainly Somlai speaking region.

But aid agencies have been reluctant to complain publicly about the lack of access, fearing that it might compromise their work in future.

President of Somali region - Abdullai Hassan , told the NYT that tha ICRC has given 7 days to leave the region. Most of the people living in Ethiopia are of ethnic group, since it is sharing the long porus border with Somali.

In April, rebels attacked Chinese-run oil field killing nine Chinese & 65 Ethiopia.