Oromo Liberation Front
| Oromo Liberation Front Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo |
|
|---|---|
| Participant in the Oromo conflict, the Ethiopian Civil War and the Somali Civil War | |
 
Logo and flag of the OLF
|
|
| Active | 1973 – present |
| Leaders | Dawud Ibsa Ayana |
| Headquarters |
Khartoum, Sudan (formerly) Asmara, Eritrea (current) |
| Area of operations | Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya |
| Strength | 60,000 (1991) 5,000 (currently; OLF claim) |
| Originated as |
Mecha and Tulama Self-Help Association Bale Oromo Resistance |
| Allies |
State allies Non-state allies |
| Opponents |
State opponents Non-state opponents |
| Battles and wars | |
State allies
Non-state allies
State opponents
Non-state opponents
The Oromo Liberation Front (Oromo: Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo abbreviated ABO; abbreviated OLF) is an organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against "Abyssinian colonial rule". It was the culmination of over 70 years of uncoordinated resistance by Oromos against Amhara hegemony as well as oppression and suppression of the Oromo people and their culture. It has been outlawed and labeled a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government. The OLF has offices in Asmara (military base), Washington, D.C. and Berlin from where it operates Amharic and Afan Oromo radio stations.
In 1967, the imperial regime of Haile Selassie I outlawed the Mecha and Tuluma Self-Help Association (MTSHA) and later instigated a wave of mass arrests and killings of its members and leaders. Prominent military officer and leader of the association, Colonel General Tadesse Birru, was also arrested. This reaction by the regime had been caused by the popularity of the organization among the Oromos and its links to the Bale Oromo resistance movement.
One of the association's members, Hussein Sora, escaped to Somalia in 1967. He and other Oromo refugees formed a rebel group called the Ethiopian National Liberation Front of which he was named Secretary General. The ENLF soon moved to Yemen and began training members of the Oromo diaspora.
The first attempt to enter the country was command by Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa but it failed when Somali security forces tracked down the members and arrested them trying to enter Ethiopia through northern Somalia. The second attempt proved to be more successful and the second group of rebels made camp in the Chercher Mountains. At this point, the group decided to operate under the name of "Oromo" instead of "Ethiopia.
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Wikipedia