ETHOPIAN Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday said his government had opened talks with Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group active in the Oromia region, the country’s largest and most populous region.
“A negotiation with Oneg Shene will start a day after tomorrow in Tanzania,” Mr Abiy said, using another name for the OLA.
He said the “Ethiopian government and people are in deep need of this negotiation process,” adding, “I call upon all groups to play (their) part.”
Mr Abiy said this in a speech to celebrate the peace deal his government signed with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November, to end the war in Tigray.
He gave no further details on the format and mediators of the talks. He, however, called on all parties to “remember that we benefit nothing from war”.
In a statement on Monday, the OLA confirmed the talks saying it was “a crucial and positive step towards establishing a lasting peace in the region”.
It said the government had accepted its terms for peace negotiations, including the inclusion of “a third-party mediator”.
The OLA and the federal government blame each other for a number of attacks in the Oromia region.
The rebel group, which claims to be fighting for the rights of ethnic Oromo people, was designated a terrorist organisation by the federal government in May 2021.
The conflict between the OLA and the federal government is separate from the fighting in Tigray, but the OLA forged an alliance with the TPLF in 2021.
