The Eritrean defeated Ethiopia unlike the Ogaden resistance which only ran and hide from Ethiopia army.
My beloved brother you cannot compare Ogaden rebels with a conventional army like the Eritrean army is.
ONLF was only a Guerilla militia. Eritrea’s army’s is a conventional well equipped and large army.
ONLF doesn’t even have air power or a navy. But Eritreas army today and the EPLF Guerilla had patrol boats anti tank missiles and air defence systems ( all seized from the enemies). And Eritrea brought toppled the Ethiopian Derg regime by blocking Ethiopia access to the Massawa and Assab Port, which later led to the fall of the Derg in Eritrea.
But ONLF even shot down Ethiopian helicopters during TPLFs invasion on Ogaden and Somalia in 2006.
ONLF even fought in Mogadishu against the TPLF.
even during Eritrean independence struggle the EPLF was conventional force.
plus Somalia and Ogaden are low top lands, conventional warfare against a larger army is difficult in such areas.
but Eritrea beeing very mountainous is the reason why we were able to defend our lands against Ethiopia in the 30 year war and 1998 border war.