The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that last year alone, hundreds of civilians were killed and thousands more were displaced from the homes as ethnic Somali rebels fight for autonomy for the Ogaden region.

Part of the reason the crisis has received such little international media attention is that the battleground is remote and the Ethiopian government restricts access for humanitarian groups and journalists, the newspaper said.

The Ogaden rebels are accused by the government of using terrorist tactics, including bombs and land mines. In April 2007, the rebels killed more than 70 people at a Chinese-run exploration facility in the region.

In response the Ethiopian government sent in troops, who were accused of burning down villages, raping women, forcibly conscripting young men into government militias and imposing a commercial blockade that sent food prices skyrocketing.

"They used mass indiscriminate measures to collectively punish the entire population," Human Rights Watch researcher Leslie Lefkow was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

For their part, Ethiopian officials blame the rebels for the violence.

"They are working with internationally known terrorists," said Zemedkun Tekle, spokesman for Ethiopia's Information Ministry.