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| Oromo conflict | |||||||
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| Part of theEthiopian Civil War andEthiopian civil conflict (2018–present) | |||||||
.svg) Territorial control as of March 2025.[b] (For a more detailed, up-to-date, interactive map, seehere). Pro-federal government troops Ethiopian federal government and regional allies Anti-federal government rebels Fano (Amhara militia) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
|  OLF(until 2018) OLA(initially part of OLF, independent from 2018)  IFLO(1985–87)  EUPF(1993–2012)[1] Supported by:[a]  Eritrea(1998–2018)[2]  Egypt (alleged)[3] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Abiy AhmedSahle-Work ZewdeAbraham Belay Haile Selassie I(until 1975) Mengistu Hailemariam(1975–1991)Negasso Gidada(1995–2001)Girma Wolde-Giorgis(2001–2013)Mulatu Teshome(2013–2018)Meles Zenawi(1991–2012)Hailemariam Desalegn(2012–2018) | Dawud Ibsa AyanaElemo Qiltu †Ahmad Taqi †Tadesse Birru †Waqo GutuJaarraa | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Imperial Ethiopian Army (until 1975) Socialist Ethiopian Liberation Army (1975–1991) ENDF (from 1991) | Oromo Liberation Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 182,500 (2011)[10] | OLF: | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,600–8,900 killed overall[16] | |||||||
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TheOromo conflict orOromia conflict is a protracted conflict between theOromo Liberation Front (OLF) and theEthiopian government.[17][18] The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight theEthiopian Empire to liberate theOromo people and establish an independent state ofOromia. The conflict began in 1973, whenOromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, theOromo Liberation Army (OLA).[19] These groups formed in response to prejudice against the Oromo people during theHaile Selassie andDerg era, when theirlanguage was banned from public administration, courts, church and schools, and the stereotype of Oromo people as a hindrance to expandingEthiopian national identity.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
TheOromo people are an ethnic group who predominantly inhabitOromia inEthiopia, along with communities in neighboringKenya andSomalia.[27][28] They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and the widerHorn of Africa; according to a 2007 census,[29] they make up about 34.5% of Ethiopia's population, and others estimate that they make up about 40% of the population.[28][30]
The Oromo remained independent until the last decade of the 19th century, when they were colonised byAbyssinia. Under the rule of Haile Selassie, the Oromo language was banned and speakers were privately and publicly mocked to help theAmhara culture andlanguage dominate the Oromo people.[31][32][33]
In 1967, the imperial regime of Haile Selassie outlawed theMecha and Tulama Self-Help Association (MTSHA), an Oromo social movement, and conducted mass arrests and executions of its members. The group's leader, Colonel GeneralTadesse Birru, a prominent military officer, was among those arrested.[34] These actions by the regime sparked outrage among the Oromo community, ultimately leading to the formation of the OLF in 1973.[35]
In 1974, the Ethiopian militaryousted the imperial regime and seized control of the country. The newDerg regime promptly arrested Oromo leaders; subsequently a secret conference attended by Oromo leaders, includingHussein Sora andElemo Qiltu, formed the OLF.[36] A group of armed Oromo fighters in theChercher Mountains were adopted as the OLF's armed wing, the OLA. The OLA increased its activities in the Chercher Mountains, prompting the Ethiopian regime to send its military to the region to quell the insurrection.[35][failed verification]
In June 1974, GeneralTadesse Birru, an Oromo nationalist who had been arrested by the imperial regime in 1966 along with other high-ranking military officers, escaped from house arrest and joined Oromo rebels led byHailu Regassa inShewa. Birru and Regassa were later captured and executed by the Derg regime.[37]
In late August 1974, an OLA unit left their stronghold in the Chercher Mountains and advanced closer toGelemso, hoping that nearby fully grown crops would hide them from Ethiopian soldiers as they made their way towards nearby towns. Three of the unit's new recruits were unaccustomed to climbing long distances, so they spent the night at the foot of the mountains, while the rest of the soldiers camped at the top.[38]
An OLA soldier sent to retrieve the three recruits discovered that they had been killed by Ethiopian militiamen who had followed the unit toTiro. A large group of Ethiopian policemen and militiamen surrounded the OLA position in the mountains, and the two opposing groups exchanged gunfire. A group of Ethiopian soldiers led by General Getachew Shibeshi arrived and shelled the stronghold with mortars, killing most of the OLA's members, including Qiltu. The event became known as theBattle of Tiro.[38] Contingents of the OLA continued to fight the regime after the battle and gained a massive influx of recruits and volunteers after the Derg regime executed Birru and Regassa.[37]
In 1976, the OLF established a stronghold in the Chercher Mountains and reorganized itself.[36][35][39] A congress created by Oromo leaders revised the 1973OLF Political Program and issued a new detailed program calling for the "total liberation of the Oromo nation from Ethiopian colonialism". The conference, now known as the Founding Congress, marked the beginning of modern Oromo nationalism.[36]
In the 1980s, the OLF estimated that they had over 10,000 soldiers. They were poorly equipped in comparison to other rebel groups in Ethiopia at the time, such as theEritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and theTigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF).[39] The OLF also opened an office inSudan in the 1980s, after its office inSomalia was closed down.[36]
During the 1980s, thegovernment of Ethiopia was accused of usingscorched earth tactics, such as burning down entire villages and massacring inhabitants. The OLF also lost several prominent members due to government ambushes and heavy fire; the secretary general of the OLF at the time,Galassa Dilbo, was nearly killed in one such ambush.[39]
In the early 1990s, the Derg began tolose its control over Ethiopia. The OLF failed to maintain strong alliances with the other two big rebel groups at the time; theEritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and theTigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).[36][39] In 1990, the TPLF created an umbrella organization for several rebel groups in Ethiopia, theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The EPRDF's Oromo subordinate, theOromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO) was seen as an attempt to replace the OLF.[citation needed]
In 1991, the EPRDF seized power and established atransitional government. The EPRDF and the OLF pledged to work together in the new government; however, they were largely unable to cooperate, as the OLF saw the OPDO as an EPRDF ploy to limit their influence.[36] In 1992, the OLF announced that it was withdrawing from the transitional government because of "harassment and [the] assassinations of its members". In response, the EPRDF sent soldiers to destroy OLA camps.[citation needed] Despite initial victories against the EPRDF, the OLF was eventually overwhelmed by the EPRDF's superior numbers and weaponry, forcing OLA soldiers to useguerrilla warfare instead of traditional tactics.[40] In the late 1990s, most of the OLF's leaders escaped Ethiopia, and the land originally administered by the OLF was seized by the Ethiopian government, led by the EPRDF.[41]
After theEritrean–Ethiopian War, the OLF moved its leadership and headquarters toEritrea. The OLA allegedly began receiving military training and arms from the Eritrean government.[42] On 25 July 2000, OLF and IFLO signed a peace agreement after five days of negotiations, thus ending 20 years of inter-factional fighting.[43] In 2004, theGambela Region-basedEthiopian Unity Patriots Front (EUPF) rebel group launched forays into Oromia with the help of Eritrea. These raids were limited in scope, however, as the EUPF had no popular support among the Oromo people, despite having some Oromo members.[1]
In 2006, the OLA in southern Oromia retreated into Kenya in an attempt to regroup. That same year, Brigadier GeneralKemel Gelchu of the Ethiopian military took 100 of his soldiers and defected to the OLF in Eritrea.[44] Despite initially aiding the OLF as leader of its military wing, in 2008, General Kemel Gelchu took matters into his own hands and announced that the OLF would lay down its weapons and abandon its previous goal of seceding Oromia and instead work as a political party to democratize Ethiopia.[45] Along with this announcement, he commanded OLF soldiers in south Oromia to lay down their weapons and surrender to the government.[46]
On 30 May 2015, various media outlets reported that the OLF had attacked a federal police station in the Ethiopian side ofMoyale town killing twelve Ethiopian soldiers.[47][48] This occurred weeks after Ethiopian forces swarmed across the Kenyan border and began abusing the locals ofSololo, looking for OLF troops. These forces later responded to the attack by launching an attack on Moyale District Hospital and killing one guard.[49]
According toAmnesty International, as of 2014, there was sweeping repression in theOromia Region of Ethiopia.[50] On 19 December 2015, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported violent protests in the Oromia region of Ethiopia in which more than 75 students were killed. According to the report, the students were protesting the government's illegal expansion of2014 Addis Ababa Master Plan[51]
On 2 October 2016, between 55 and 300 festival-goers were massacred at the most sacred and largest event of the Oromo, theIrreecha cultural thanksgiving festival.[52] In just one day, dozens were killed and many more injured. Every year, millions of Oromos, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, gather inBishoftu for this annual celebration. However that year Ethiopian security forces responded to peaceful protests by firing tear gas and live bullets at over two million people surrounded by a lake and cliffs. In the week that followed, angry youth attacked government buildings and private businesses. On 8 October, the government responded with a state of emergency lifted not lifted until August 2017.[53] During the state of emergency, security forces arbitrarily detained over 21,000 people.[54]
In April 2018 the OLF made peace with the Ethiopian government along with several other groups including theOgaden National Liberation Front andGinbot 7. The OLF leadership agreed to disarm its soldiers within 15 days of their arrival in Addis Ababa. According to then-OLF leader Ibsa Negewo, the OLF claimed to have 1,305 soldiers in Eritrea and 4,000 in West and South Oromia. The men stationed in Eritrea agreed to disarm but most of those in Oromia refused to do so despite their leaders’ wishes. One leader, Kumsa Diriba, also known as "Jaal Maro", failed to reach a deal with the government and after a falling out with the OLF, he split away from the OLF and formed OLF–Shene, also known as the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). Security forces promised to crush the group within two weeks but haven't been able to do so even after 5 years of fighting.[55][56][57] During the following two years, OLA killed 700 civilians in the East andWest Guji Zones according to Haaji Umar Nagessa, a "veteran freedom fighter and tribal leader", who was assassinated by the OLA on 4 April 2020.[58]
In March 2021, the 22nd division of theEritrean Defence Forces (EDF), already present in theTigray Region during theTigray War, was in Oromia Region to fight the OLA, according toFreedom Friday. The 22nd division was led byHaregot Furzun.[59] The OLA insurgency continued through much of 2021. On 31 October, the OLA took control ofKamisee, simultaneously to theTigray Defense Forces taking control ofKombolcha.[60]
The firstOLA peace deal was launched in April 2023, mediated byTanzania, but it ended without success. A second attempt took place in November 2023 inDar es Salaam, in collaboration withIGAD; however, this negotiation also failed to produce an agreement.[61] On December 1, 2024, an OLA faction led by Jaal Senay Negasa signed a peace deal withOromia Region PresidentShimelis Abdisa.[62]
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