Urgent appeals
236. On 21 October 1993 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government regarding the following staff of the regional office of the Oromo Relief Association (ORA) in Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia: Ahmed Mohamed, Abbas Said, Sharif Mohamed, Usman Umar, Ali Haider, Abdulaziz Abdullah, Mohamed Ahmed, Ammw Hamid, Mohamed Abdu, Mussa Ibrahim, Raya Abdi, Hamid Abdullahi, Galaye Tufe, Tajudin Abdullah and Mohamed Izzedin. According to the reports, they were arrested by members of the security forces between 26 September and 2 October 1993, apparently under suspicion of links with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). They were believed to be held at the Hurso "re-education camp" near Dire Dawa, a former military training camp used since late 1991 as a detention centre for alleged OLF members. Fears were expressed that they might be subjected to torture.