www.reuters.com* Rebels in potential oil/gas region claim 34 attacks
* Government calls ONLF statement "outright lies"
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian rebel group said on Tuesday it had killed 267 soldiers since the beginning of October, in its first such claim since the government signed a peace deal with one its factions last month.
The Ethiopian government denied the claim.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wants more autonomy for the country's mainly ethnic-Somali Ogaden region and has warned foreign companies exploring for oil and gas to stay away or face attack.
Firms, including Petronas [PETR.UL] and Vancouver-based Africa Oil Corporation (AOI.V: Quote), are working in the Ogaden. Petronas has asked for government approval of a deal to sell all its oil and gas concessions to locally-owned SouthWest Energy (H.K.) Ltd.
Commercial amounts of oil and gas have not yet been extracted. Continued...
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