A mystery illness is killing residents in small villages near a Chinese natural gas project in Ethiopia, locals and residents say.
An investigation by the Guardian claims families and villagers in settlements in Somali region are experiencing horrendous symptoms such as swollen limbs, yellow eyes and bleeding from the mouth and nose.
Although it is not clear what is causing people to fall ill, the Federal Government in Addis Ababa firmly denied allegations both of a health and environmental crisis in the region.
Part state-owned Chinese firm Poly-GCL has been prospecting for natural oil and gas on the Ogaden Basin region since 2014.
The company conducted the first ever oil extraction tests in the region known as Ogaden Basin.
Poly-GCL signed an agreement with neighbouring Djibouti to invest £3.1bn in building a 760km pipeline from Ogaden to the Djiboutian coast.
It will enable Ethiopia to export 6.3tn cubic feet of natural gas out of the country.
But locals say they are worried about the construction of the pipeline as they have not been consulted – and fear it will destroy their environment which they rely on for animals grazing.
In an interview with the newspaper, 23-year old Khadar Abdi Abdullahi – who later died as a result of the sickness – said he believed hazardous chemical waste from the plant was to blame for people falling ill.
Speaking in the eastern Ethiopian city of Jigjiga, Khadar said: “It is the toxins that flow in the rainfall from Calub [gas field] that are responsible for this epidemic.”
According to the SUN,The young man, described as weak and withdrawn, said he had been discharged from hospital after doctors said they could not help him – essentially a death sentence around his neck.
One 60-year-old man, named Ismail Qamaan, said: “Not a single person has ever asked us about our plight.”
An adviser to the Somali regional Government, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “There are new diseases that have never been seen before in this area.
“Without any public health protection, it is very clear that Poly-GCL uses chemicals that are detrimental to human health.”
What's happening in Tunisia?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for updates.
