Target Abole oil field | Non-fatal injuries Unknown | |
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Location Abole, Somali Region, Ethiopia Date April 24, 2007
6:00 am (UTC+3) Deaths 65 Ethiopian workers
9 Chinese workers
7 Chinese workers taken hostage. Perpetrators Ogaden National Liberation Front | ||
The Abole oil field raid occurred in the early morning of April 24, 2007, when gunmen of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked a Chinese oil company's premises in the town of Abole, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Degehabur, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. 74 Ethiopian soldiers, including nine Chinese workers working for the Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau under the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), were killed.
The attack shocked the public, and many became worried it might push away foreign investors from coming to the country. Most of the dead were soldiers but it included some members of the Ethiopian security officials. This was one of the largest single attack committed by ONLF.
The Abole attack came just as Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu were involved in fierce fighting with Somali insurgents.