Ethiopian officers 'defect'

An army officer killed Ethiopia's security chief last month

Eleven men believed to be Ethiopian army officers are reported to have defected to Kenya.

The group are being held by the Kenyan Military Intelligence Corps at Oda Camp in Moyale in northeastern Kenya.

Kenyan military spokesman Bogita Bwongeri told the BBC they were interrogating them to establish their identity and reason for being in the country.

Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper says the 11 are understood to be seeking political asylum.

A BBC reporter in Nairobi says that with the relationship between Kenya and Ethiopia being a good one, observers will be watching with interest to see how Kenya handles the affair, especially if Ethiopia asks for their return.

Assassination

Correspondents say there has been increasing discontent among Ethiopia's officer corps.

Last month an army major assassinated the head of the country's security and intelligence service.

Kinfe Gebre-Medhin, who was a close ally of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, was shot in the back by an army major as he entered the Ethiopian armed forces officers' club in Addis Ababa.

However, the Kenyan spokemsna declined to confirm reports that the officers were close to Mr Kinfe and feared facing a similar fate.

There has been growing political dissent in Ethiopia since the end of the border war with Eritrea.

Last month the Ethiopian authorities arrested hundreds of opposition members and students after week-long riots in which about 40 people died.