Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Sunday that his government had begun talks with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group active in the country’s largest and most populous region, Oromia.
“A negotiation with Oneg Shene will start the day after tomorrow in Tanzania,” Mr. Abiy said, referring to the OLA by another name.
He stated that the “Ethiopian government and people are in desperate need of this negotiation process,” and urged “all groups to play (their) part.”
Mr. Abiy said this in a speech to commemorate the November peace agreement his government signed with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to end the Tigrayan war.
He did not elaborate on the format or mediators of the talks. He did, however, urge all parties to “remember that we gain nothing from the war.”
The OLA confirmed the talks in a statement on Monday, calling them “a critical and positive step toward establishing a lasting peace in the region.”
It stated that the government had agreed to its terms for peace talks, which included the inclusion of “a third-party mediator.”
The OLA and the federal government both blame each other for a series of attacks in Oromia.
The federal government designated the rebel group, which claims to be fighting for the rights of ethnic Oromo people, as a terrorist organization in May 2021.
The conflict between the OLA and the federal government is distinct from the fighting in Tigray; however, in 2021, the OLA formed an alliance with the TPLF.
