A major rebel group in Ethiopia’s Oromia region on Friday accused the government of fabricating claims of secret peace negotiations.
In a press release, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) also known as WBO in Oromoo, accused Ethiopian government of using proxy forces to stoke ethnic and religious violence, warning that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was poised to “unleash a new war.”
The statement said the government had circulated “false claims” that the OLA had entered into secret negotiations with the ruling Prosperity Party (PP).
“This fabrication follows months of low-level cadre propaganda in Oromia about ‘silencing guns among brothers’,” the OLA statement read. “Such disinformation is neither new nor accidental. It is another futile attempt by Abiy to appropriate the legitimacy and public support of opposition movements.”
The OLA, the armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), has been in an insurgency for years. It said that “no durable settlement can emerge under a man who weaponizes deceit and violence as instruments of rule.”
The rebel group also accused the government of turning to ethnic and religious divisions. “Having failed to ignite large-scale violence in Jimma and Arsi last year, the regime has recently attacked Orthodox Christian communities across the Arsi zones, executed through its proxy armed networks in Oromia,” the statement alleged.
The OLA claimed that similar proxies have recently been cultivated in the Amhara and Tigray regions, “indicating Abiy’s plan to act as both the arsonist and the firefighter across the country.”
The group called on the international community to “act fast,” warning that the country “stands on the brink of yet another Abiy-made catastrophe.”
“With an economy in free fall, an army in disarray, and diplomacy at its lowest ebb, Abiy Ahmed is poised to unleash a new war whose consequences will not stop at Ethiopia’s borders,” the statement said. “The writing has long been on the wall, and the costs of silence will be measured not only in our people’s lives but in regional instability.”
OLA insurgency part of broader conflicts in Ethiopia
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), has been in an insurgency for years as part of a broader pattern of unrest that has plagued Ethiopia. The federal government has labelled the OLA a terrorist organisation, accusing it of destabilising the country and targeting civilians. The group denies these allegations, positioning itself as the protector of Oromo interests and accusing the government of systemic marginalisation and repression.
The accusations from the OLA come as Ethiopia’s fragile 2022 Pretoria peace agreement with forces in the northern Tigray region is also under severe strain, with both sides accusing each other of grave violations.
In a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General dated Nov. 7, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accused the federal government of a drone strike in the Tigray-Afar border area and of supporting an armed group operating from the Afar region.
Simultaneously, the Afar regional administration has condemned the TPLF for allegedly crossing into its territory, seizing villages, and attacking civilians with heavy weapons.
The war in northern Ethiopia, which ended in November 2022, left at least 600,000 people dead, according to the African Union, and caused widespread destruction. The implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement has been plagued by challenges and mutual recriminations.
The situation is further complicated by the emergence of a new splinter armed group, the “Tigray Peace Force (TPF),” which is backed by the federal government and operates along the Afar–Tigray border, openly opposing the TPLF leadership.
