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The former president of Gambella Regional State (west Ethiopia) who had disappeared in mid-January along with his bodyguards and chauffeur following the massacre of Anuak civilians, has openly joined the Ethiopian opposition supported by the Eritrean regime. To begin with, Okelo Akuai took refuge in Kenya where he rallied to the Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front (EPPF), set up with the support of Asmara (ION 924) by various Ethiopian opponents. One of these was Tuhat Pol, a former Gambella regional secretary of the ruling party at the time of President Mengistu Haile Mariam. Akuai is now believed to be seeking political asylum in Norway. Furthermore, Tuhat Pol, who says that his is carrying on an armed struggle against the Ethiopian EPRDF regime in the regions of Ilubabor, Kaffa and Gambella, is currently on a recruitment tour in Europe. He met with Ethiopians living in Holland and is scheduled to hold a meeting in Stockholm (Sweden) on the weekend of 22 and 23 May. However, according to the security force of the Ethiopian government, a group of around twenty armed militants linked to the EPPF has recently been put out of combat in the Gambella region. Among these dead was a former Ethiopian serviceman, major Kut, who was previously allied to Tuhat Pol in Eritrea . |