Oromo conflict

This article is about the historical conflict between Oromo people and the Ethiopian government. For the insurgency of the Oromo Liberation Army, see OLA insurgency.
Oromo conflict
Part of the Ethiopian Civil War (1974-1991)
and Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)

The Oromia Region in Ethiopia
Date1973–present (51 years)
Location
Oromia, Ethiopia
Status

Ongoing

  • Start of peace talks between government of Ethiopia and the OLA on 25 April 2023[4][5]
  • Conflict resumes after peace talks failed in May 2023.
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 Ahmed
Sahle-Work Zewde
Abraham 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 Ayana
Elemo Qiltu †
Ahmad Taqi †
Tadesse Birru †
Waqo Gutu
Jaarraa
Units involved
Imperial Ethiopian Army (until 1975)
Socialist Ethiopian Liberation Army (1975−1991)
ENDF (from 1991)		 Oromo Liberation Army
Strength
182,500 (2011)[6]

OLF:

  • 13,000 (1982)[7]
  • 14,000 (1991)[8]
  • 10,000−40,000 (1992)[9]
    (likely ~15,000[9]−20,000)[10]
  • 20,000−22,000 (1998)[11]
Casualties and losses
1,600−8,900 killed overall[12]
  1. ^ Alleged by the government of Ethiopia.[citation needed]

The Oromo conflict or Oromia conflict is a protracted conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ethiopian government.[13][14] The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight the Ethiopian Empire to liberate the Oromo people and establish an independent state of Oromia. The conflict began in 1973, when Oromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).[15] These groups formed in response to prejudice against the Oromo people during the Haile Selassie and Derg era, when their language was banned from public administration, courts, church and schools, and the stereotype of Oromo people as a hindrance to expanding Ethiopian national identity.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

== Background == not appropriate

The Oromo people are an ethnic group who predominantly inhabit Oromia in Ethiopia, along with communities in neighboring Kenya and Somalia.[23][24] They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa; according to a 2007 census,[25] they make up about 34.5% of Ethiopia's population, and others estimate that they make up about 40% of the population.[24][26]

The Oromo remained independent until the last decade of the 19th century, when they were colonised by Abyssinia. Under the rule of Haile Selassie, the Oromo language was banned and speakers were privately and publicly mocked to help the Amhara culture and language dominate the Oromo people.[27][28][29]

In 1967, the imperial regime of Haile Selassie outlawed the Mecha and Tulama Self-Help Association (MTSHA), an Oromo social movement, and conducted mass arrests and executions of its members. The group's leader, Colonel General Tadesse Birru, a prominent military officer, was among those arrested.[30] These actions by the regime sparked outrage among the Oromo community, ultimately leading to the formation of the OLF in 1973.[31]

  1. ^ WRITENET (2004), p. 8.
  2. ^ Iaccino, Ludovica (26 February 2016). "Ethiopia claims Eritrea behind Oromo protests but activists warn against 'state propaganda'". International Business Times UK. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Ethiopia Alleges Oromo Protesters Receiving Support From Egypt". Bloomberg. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  4. ^ "Ethiopian PM announces start date of peace talks with rebel group". 24 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Ethiopian Government Initiates Peace Talks With Oromo Rebel Group". 24 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Ethiopia Military Strength". Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  7. ^ Schmid & Jongman, 2005: 538-539.
  8. ^ Gérard Prunier. "Armed Movements in Sudan, Chad, CAR, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. ZIF Analysis. Addis Ababa, febrero de 2008, pp. 13-14.
  9. ^ a b Østebø, 2011: 289
  10. ^ Koonings, 2002: 259; Marcus, 2002: 235
  11. ^ "Country report and updates Ethiopia". Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine War Resisters' International. Entre 1974 y 1990 murieron 300 000 soldados etíopes y 230 000 entre enero y mayo de 1991.
  12. ^ "UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia: Ethiopia". Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  13. ^ "What's Driving Clashes Between Ethiopia's Somali, Oromia Regions?". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  14. ^ The Oromo Conflict in Ethiopia and the formation of the OLF, n.d., archived from the original on 2021-08-12, retrieved 2021-04-01
  15. ^ Triulzi, Alessandro (1996). Being and Becoming Oromo. Sweden: Gotab. ISBN 91-7106-379-X.
  16. ^ Davey, Melissa (13 February 2016), "Oromo children's books keep once-banned Ethiopian language alive", The Guardian, archived from the original on February 14, 2016, retrieved February 14, 2016
  17. ^ Language & Culture (PDF), archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-17, retrieved 2021-02-22
  18. ^ ETHIOPIANS: AMHARA AND OROMO, January 2017, archived from the original on 2021-04-19, retrieved 2021-02-22
  19. ^ OROMO CONTINUE TO FLEE VIOLENCE, September 1981, archived from the original on 2021-04-12, retrieved 2021-02-22
  20. ^ Country Information Report ethiopia, August 12, 2020, archived from the original on April 12, 2021, retrieved August 12, 2021
  21. ^ Ethiopia. Status of Amharas, March 1, 1993, archived from the original on January 25, 2021, retrieved February 22, 2021
  22. ^ Bulcha, Mekuria (July 1970), "The Politics of Linguistic Homogenization in Ethiopia and the Conflict over the Status of "Afaan Oromoo"", African Affairs, 96 (384): 325–352, doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007852, JSTOR 723182, archived from the original on 2021-04-12, retrieved 2021-02-22
  23. ^ Merriam-Webster Inc, Frederick C. Mish, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, (Merriam-Webster: 2003), p.876
  24. ^ a b Ta'a, Tesema (2006). The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 17. ISBN 978-3-447-05419-5. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  25. ^ Central Statistical Agency (2008), "TABEL [sic] 5: Population size of Regions by Nations/Nationalities (ethnic group) and Place of Residence: 2007", Census 2007 (PDF), Addis Ababa: Central Statistical Agency, p. 16, Table 2.2, archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-27
  26. ^ Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 433. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  27. ^ Oromo, archived from the original on October 23, 2019, retrieved February 12, 2015
  28. ^ oromo, March 2003, archived from the original on 2021-04-18, retrieved 2021-04-06
  29. ^ Facts about the Oromo of East Africa, May 26, 1995, archived from the original on January 28, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  30. ^ Adejumobi, Saheed (2007). History of Ethiopia. United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-313-32273-0.
  31. ^ "Insurrection and invasion in the southeast, 1963-78" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-26. Retrieved 2017-06-01.