By Neel Arora

(AXcess News) Washington - One of the world's most volatile region, the Horn of Africa, has come under greater scrutiny, as the political and humanitarian situation in Ethiopia worsens after fraudulent elections. 

Regarded as the most important ally to the United States in calming the region, Ethiopia is in a critical moment as it shifts away from democracy and toward a more repressive and brutal regime.

"The 2010 elections clearly show Ethiopia moving toward a one-party rule," Ted Dagne, specialist in African affairs for the Congressional Research Service, told the Foreign Affairs' Africa and Global Health subcommittee at a hearing Thursday.

The ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, captured 99 percent of the vote in the May elections, largely because of the restrictions it placed on opposition parties and intimidation against its citizens.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., the senior Republican on the subcommittee, said the  Obama administration should condemn the actions of the Ethiopian government. He also said a fundamental reorientation of U.S. policy toward the region is needed.

The insurgency continues over the independence of the Ethiopia's Ogaden region, which borders Somalia. The region remains largely closed off or severely restricted for humanitarian workers, nongovernmental organizations and journalists.

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch said it has found patterns of arbitrary detention, torture and killings of civilians amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity on the side of the government.

But Leslie Lefkow, senior researcher and team leader on the Horn of Africa for Human Rights Watch, said in an interview that political implications will prevent any cases from reaching the international courts on human rights at this time.    

Human Rights watch also said the insurgents, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, are  guilty of war crimes for attacking a Chinese oil exploration site in 2007, killing two Chinese civilians. This prompted an intensified Ethiopian military retaliation in the region. 

Government security forces are attempting to remove any support base for the rebels by killing and intimidating civilians. It seeks to protect oil interests threatened by the nsurgency. 

"The way that security forces have dealt with these threats is often through indiscriminate attacks on civilians," Lefkow said.

Exploration by oil companies from all over the world, including the U.S. and China, is currently under away in the Ogaden.

A discovery could open the door for potentially devastating effects like those in other parts of Africa. Sudan, countries in the Gulf of Guinea and others can blame many of their struggles on oil.

Already large areas in the Ogaden used by farmers and herders, the majority of the population, have been fenced off for oil companies.

"The assault on civil society is a trend that will continue and worsen and that should concern Ethiopia's friends and neighbors," Lefkow said.

A focal point for U.S. foreign policy toward Ethiopia has been the war on terrorism against outfits based in Somalia. Yet groups such as Al-Shabaab that are affiliated with al-Qaida have taken control of Somalia. The transitional government backed by the U.S., which was put in place in 2005 by Ethiopia when it invaded Somalia, has been a letdown.

Corruption and lack of intent to govern have fueled the transitional government's failure to gain control beyond the capital, which is protected by African Union peacekeepers, said Ken Menkhaus, professor of political science at Davidson College.  

All of this has added to the misery of civilian populations, as the government has not been able to provide developmental and humanitarian assistance including, food aid. Leaders in the government have also found ways to profit from diverting or blocking humanitarian relief, Menkhaus said in his written statement.

"Today, Somalia remains one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world with 1.4 million internally displaced people," said Sadia Aden, human rights activist and freelance writer. "There are 3.5 million people out of 80 million people, Mr. Chairman, that are on the verge of starvation."

Source: Scripps Howard Foundation Wire