Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is an Ethiopian ethnic guerrilla group whose original goal was to create a separate state within the current borders of Ethiopia as a homeland for the Oromo people. However, as a result of disagreements within the group, some factions reject the separatist goal and favor working on behalf of the Oromo within a federalized Ethiopia.

Unknown. With the total Oromo population in Ethiopia estimated at close to 20 million, OLF has a wide base from which to draw potential supporters. Ethiopian forces imprisoned 18,000 OLF militants as far back as 1992.

At various times, OLF has found support and sanctuary from insurgent groups within neighboring countries. Because of OLF factionalism, some members have participated in activities beyond Ethiopia, including support for insurgencies in Somalia.

The OLF is allied with the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which professes similar goals for Ethiopia's Ogaden people.

According to the U.S. State Dept., Al-Qaida operatives responsible for the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 were trained in southern Somalia where OLF forces also were based. Some reports have suggested OLF links with the Islamic Courts Union movement in Somalia.

The OLF has engaged in bomb attacks, direct military skirmishes, grenade attacks and land-mine emplacements. Targets have included government facilities, commercial establishments, hotels and fuel tankers.

The Oromo Liberation Front was formed in 1973 with the goal of fighting for Oromo self-determination, partly in reaction to the repression of Oromo separatists by the Abyssinian leadership of Ethiopia. The Oromo constitute about 35 percent of Ethiopia's total population of 61 million. The homeland claimed by the OLF would occupy more than half of Ethiopia's current territory, including the capital, Addis Ababa.

In 1991, the more moderate Tigrean political faction took over the government, but the OLF continued its terrorist campaign for an Oromo state. Parties from the neighboring countries of Somalia and Eritrea are suspected of supporting the OLF in an effort to weaken Ethiopia.

After an OLF land mine killed 14 people in 2000, the Ethiopian government initiated an aggressive campaign to eliminate the group. The government has reduced the front's effectiveness through mass arrests and the liquidation of key leaders. The OLF's influence apparently waned, but violent activities resumed in early 2007. By mid-2008, the number of attacks again dropped off.

The Ethiopian government maintains that the rights of the Oromo people – up to and including the right to secede – are guaranteed by the Ethiopian constitution and that those seeking change have the opportunity to do so within the existing political system. The government contends that the OLF has committed atrocities against its own people and has rejected a democratic option in favor of violence, requiring it to be treated as a terrorist organization.

In 2001, Ethiopia began moving away from a socialist economy to a pro-capitalist system. Major infrastructure improvements have been made to roads and civic institutions. Primary schooling has improved as well. New hospitals and universities are being constructed in the Oromia region with sustainable industrial and agricultural advances.

Positive national changes, along with the OLF's longstanding internal divisions, have hindered the group. OLF has been looking to Ethiopian communities in Europe and North America for support. Some members have drifted into insurgencies in nearby areas.

Government military operations still periodically occur along parts of the Ethiopian borders with Kenya and Somalia. As of mid-2009, the OLF remains an illegal organization in Ethiopia and is involved in occasional border incursions.

August: OLF leaders met in Germany to consider a negotiated agreement with the government. 

November: The government arrested 100 suspected members of OLF, charging them with participating in bomb attacks.

March: A truck from neighboring Kenya struck an OLF mine, killing 14 people. The mine was probably intended for an Ethiopian target. The OLF also detonated a small explosion in the Ethiopian Railway Commission in the Southeastern town of Daire Dawa, killing 14 people.

October: Somali warlord Hussein Aideed agreed to disarm and expel OLF fighters from Somalia in exchange for an Ethiopian withdrawal.

The OLF claimed responsibility for a bomb attack at Dire Dawa, which killed 14 people.

November: The OLF released a statement indicating it was willing to engage in a dialogue with the government. The statement stopped short of rejecting violent activities.

May: The OLF rejected the results of parliamentary elections, claiming that the outcome was manipulated. Despite strong support in some areas, parties representing Oromo constituencies failed to gain control of the government.

May 23: Three civilians were killed in the town of El Hadi in Kenya's Eastern province by suspected OLF members.

May 26: Assailants believed to be members of OLF killed two people in an attack on the village of Idido in Kenya's Eastern province.

May 31: Suspected OLF militants killed seven people including a child and three police reservists, and wounded five others in El Hadi, in the Eastern province of Kenya.

June: Raiders believed to be from OLF killed seven Kenyans near the border with Ethiopia. The attackers also took thousands of goats, camels and cattle. The raid prompted an increased police deployment in the Sokole area of the North Horr division of Eastern province.

August: Ethiopian authorities arrested OLF leader Ahmed Kemal.

October: OLF leader Daud Ibsa visited Oromo communities in Europe and North America in an effort to formulate a new strategy to deal with the Ethiopian government. The OLF warned the Oromo people against participating in a possible conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

November: Clashes between students and police in Oromia resulted the death of 48 protesters. The Ethiopian government arrested hundreds of Oromo leaders even as the OLF urged supporters to engage in a popular uprising.

April 16: Suspected OLF raiders killed two herders, abducted nine others and stole 2,000 head of livestock in Gorai, Eastern province, Kenya.

August: Kenyan security forces arrested 45 suspected OLF militia.

Sept. 15: Two high-ranking officers in the Ethiopian army defected to join OLF.

Nov. 5: Suspected OLF gunmen killed three civilians in the town of Sololo in Kenya's Eastern province.

Aug. 15: Ethiopian police said they arrested several OLF members plotting to bomb public buildings and assassinate officials in the city of Nazareth. Nine explosive devices, 12 fuses and an AK-47 assault rifle were reportedly confiscated during the arrests. OLF denied involvement.

May 20: An improvised explosive device was detonated near a vehicle in Addis Ababa, killing six civilians and wounding seven others. No group claimed responsibility, but the Ethiopian government blamed OLF. The group denied involvement.

November: The Ethiopian government arrested more than 100 Orozo civilians for supporting the OLF.

Nov. 25: Fifty-four convicted OLF members who were serving prison terms were released and pardoned.

April: The Kenyan government followed up on reports alleging at least 60 heavily armed OLF members were operating in the Merti region of Kenya.