Rice appeal to Ethiopia on Ogaden

At least 80 people died in 2005 election protests

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged Ethiopia to pay more attention to humanitarian conditions in the south-eastern Ogaden region.

She said this would help the US administration in its opposition to a congressional resolution criticising Ethiopia's human rights record.

The US and Ethiopian governments are close allies.

They are working together in fighting violent Islamist influence in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia.

But at the moment, there is one major irritant to the relationship - a bill known as HR2003, which would restrict US military assistance to Ethiopia because of its poor human rights record.

It has already been approved by the US House of Representatives.

It is unlikely to pass in the Senate or get presidential approval but even so, it is the subject of constant loud condemnation in Addis Ababa.

Food deliveries

In an interview with Ethiopian television, Ms Rice said that her government was against the bill, but that it would help if Ethiopian leaders paid attention to humanitarian conditions in the Ogaden.

This is the mainly Somali-speaking region, where the army has been fighting an intense counter-insurgency operation against separatist rebels.

She said she understood Ethiopia's security concerns, but that these could not be allowed to get in the way of helping innocent people who had been caught up in the conflict.

The main emphasis of US officials here has been on the need to allow normal commercial food deliveries to the Ogaden, deliveries which have been largely blocked for the past six months.

Ms Rice said she believed the opening and maintenance of humanitarian corridors was absolutely essential and that the cooperation of the Ethiopian government was needed to help relief agencies deal with the situation in the area.