Somali opposition leaders unite against Ethiopia

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- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day - (millennium edition featuring Faces of Ethiopia)
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PRESS RELEASE

The Citizens Charter Group is pleased to release the millennium edition of the "Citizens Charter for a Democratic Ethiopia". An Amharic translation is provided for the first time, and translations in other major Ethiopian languages shall follow soon.

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ASMARA, Sept 6, 2007 - Somali opposition figures, including top Islamist leaders, opened a 10-day congress in Eritrea Thursday with a call for a swift withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from their war-torn country.

Some 400 delegates gathered in the Eritrean capital for the meeting, which came exactly a week after the close of a clan reconciliation conference sponsored by the interim government and the international community in Mogadishu.

(Picture - Militant Somali Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (C) attends opening of a meeting of Somali opposition figures in Asmara September 6, 2007)


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Sheikh Hassan Aweys, the overall leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that briefly controlled large swathes of Somalia before being ousted earlier this year by Ethiopian-backed government forces, was present at the gathering.

The Islamist movement's other top leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, urged Ethiopia to pull its troops out of Somalia and criticised its US ally in his opening speech. "We hold this conference to establish a political organisation that liberates the country and ends the violence and chaotic situation," he said.

"We call upon Ethiopia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Somalia and stop its imperialistic adventure on our territory," the senior ICU leader added.(More...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

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-AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION ALERT - ETHIOPIA
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-BULCHA DEMEKSA: 107 DETAINED IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS
-Ethiopia's Distinctive Religious Heritage (Donald N. Levine)
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

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Dr. Yacob donates money to heart disease patients

Dr. Yacob H/mariam donated 4000 birr to heart disease patients in Ethiopia by selling gifts he received from supporters and friends after his release from prison.(More...)

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

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-France to Host U.N. Africa Summit
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-Republican Fred Thompson joins presidential race
-Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

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Nigeria reach Under-17 World Cup final

Nigeria will meet Spain in the final of the U-17 World Cup after the West Africans team beat Germany 3-1 in Thursday's semi-final. Striker Macaulay Christanus took his tournament tally to seven goal when he opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 10th minute.(More..)

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PICTURE OF THE DAY - FACES OF ETHIOPIA^{Millennium edition}

(Turmi, Ethiopia - Hamer man)

(The Hammere are a tribal people in southwestern Ethiopia. They live in a fertile part of the Omo River valley. They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle. According to the CSA census of 1994, there were 42,838 Hammer language speakers, and 42,448 self-identified Hammer people of a total population of about 53 million, representing approximately 0.1% of the population.)

For more beautiful pictures of the Hamer- Click here




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