The Ogaden National Liberation Front (abbreviated ONLF, Somali: Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya; Arabic: الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين, romanized: Al-Jabhat al-wataniat litahrir 'Awjadin) is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to self-determination for Somalis in the Ogaden or Somali Region of Ethiopia. Its armed wing, the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA), waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian government from 1994 to 2018.
Ogaden National Liberation Front Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين | |
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Abbreviation | ONLF |
Leader | Abdirahman Mahdi |
Founded | 1984 |
Split from | WSLF |
Ideology | Somali nationalism |
Political position | Centre-left |
Colors | Green, Blue, Red |
Seats in the House of Federation | 0 / 112
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Seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives | 0 / 547
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Party flag | |
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Website | |
http://onlf.org/ | |
Background
The ONLF, established in 1984, demanded for the autonomy of this region and began an insurgency in 1994 aimed at Ethiopian forces in the area, which the government considers a region under the new federal system.
The ONLF is composed mainly of members of the Ogaden clan, specifically "the Makaahiil tribe of the Ogaden".[1] The armed wing of the ONLF was the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA).
Supporters of the ONLF generally aspire to create an independent, sovereign Somali-majority state consisting primarily of what is now Ethiopia's Somali Region. ONLF supporters generally refer to the entire area of this future state as Ogaden or Ogadenia even though the name is controversial among some groups because of its clan-affiliation. The ONLF ostensibly exists to allow the inhabitants of Ethiopia's Somali Region the ability to freely determine their own future and has thus has taken few public positions with regards to how a future state of Ogadenia would be administered. That said, the ONLF has fostered the creation of a national consciousness among Ethiopia's Somali inhabitants by adopting a national flag for Ogadenia and promoting an Ogaden national anthem, Qaran (before the adoption of Qaran, the Ogaden national anthem used by some separatists was Abab).[2] Furthermore, the ONLF has an official political programme in which it commits to, among other things, protecting freedom of religion, democratic activity, and the women, children, and minorities of Ogaden.[3]
Ogadenia confusion
The ONLF mostly recruits from the Ogaden (clan) of Somali people, which constitutes roughly 2/3 of the regional population.[4] However, many other Somali clans and sub-clans reside in the area, and animosity between the pro-ONLF Ogadenis and other Somali clans in the area remains very deeply rooted. For many, calling the region "Ogaden" is "rightly or wrongly, associated with majority rule by the Ogaden clans, respectively with their claim for power within the Somali Regional State".[5] The Ethiopian government has exploited these rivalries by arming minority Somali militias to fight the majority ONLF.[4] Yet, some Ogaden members have pushed for other Somali clans getting represented in the regional government.[6] Writer Mohamed Mohamud Abdi states that the territory has been under occupation since the Scramble for Africa, and that the inhabitants have been unable to choose their own name Ogadenia for the land.[7]
History
Origins
Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden War, many supporters of the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) became disillusioned with the organizations increasing reliance on Mogadishu and were frustrated by international portrayals of the struggle in the Ogaden as merely a border matter between Ethiopia and Somalia. The ONLF was founded in 1984 by six disaffected members of the WSLF: Abdirahman Mahdi, Mohamed Ismail Omar, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdalla Mohamed, Abdi Ibrahim Ghehleh, Abdirahman Yusuf Magan and Abdulahi Muhammed Sa'adi. The organization was immediately banned by the government of Siad Barre.[8]
From 1984 to 1992, the organization lacked formal structures of its own, and was instead represented by different Ogaden groups that supported the ideals of the ONLF.[8]
By the time Mengistu regime fell, the ONLF had fully consolidated its position among ethnic Somalis in Ogaden, and joined the Transitional Government. The ONLF announced elections in December 1992 for District Five (what became the Somali Region) in Ethiopia, and won 80% of the seats of the local parliament. ONLF nominated Abdullahi Muhumed Sa'di for the Region's presidency, and other members for the vice-presidency and the Executive body; the regional parliament elected them in a majority vote. ONLF elected officials ruled the territory until the transitional government ended with the adoption of a new constitution. At that time the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front pushed for a new partner in the region, which led to the founding of the Ethiopian Somali Democratic League (ESDL) at Hurso in 1993. The ESDL then won the Somali seats in the 1995 general elections, pushing the ONLF out of power. The ONLF then accused the Ethiopian government of oppressing its members, while ONLF was accused of killing other Somali politicians and elders.[citation needed]
2000s
In 2005 Ethiopia proposed peace talks with ONLF. ONLF accepted on the condition that talks be held in a neutral country and with the presence of a neutral arbiter from the international community, but the talks broke down due to Ethiopia's insistence that the two parties meet directly in a location in or around the Horn of Africa. ONLF became a part of the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy on May 22, 2006 but the alliance has not achieved any progress since its creation.[9]
Invasion of Somalia
On 23 July 2006, the ONLF announced the downing of an Ethiopian military helicopter heading for Somalia and warned publicly warned that Ethiopian military movements in the region pointed towards an imminent large scale operation.[10] On 12 August 2006, the Ethiopian government claimed 13 members of the ONLF were killed and several commanders captured as they crossed into Ethiopia from Somalia.[11] In a 26 November 2006 press release, the ONLF categorically rejected government claims of an ONLF military personnel in Somalia, and further warned that it would not allow Ethiopian troops to stage into Somalia from their territories:
...the ONLF categorically denies assertions by the TPLF led regime in Ethiopia and members of the media that ONLF military personnel are in Somalia. As a matter of principle the ONLF has never been and does not intend to be a party to the conflict in Somalia. We wish to affirm that the scope of our military operations is and will continue to be limited to Ogaden and Ethiopia. We further wish to make clear that the Ogaden cause in not a territorial dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia but rather a legitimate struggle for the self-determination of the Somali people of Ogaden...the ONLF wishes to affirm that we will not allow our territory to be used as a launching pad for an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia without stiff resistance from our armed forces.[12]
On December 23, the ONLF claimed to have attacked an Ethiopian column near Baraajisale heading to Somalia, destroying 4 of 20 vehicles, inflicting casualties and driving the convoy back.[13] On January 10, 2007, ONLF publicly condemned Ethiopia's entry into the War in Somalia, stating that Meles Zenawi's invasion of Somalia demonstrated that his government had been an active participant in the Somali conflict with a clear agenda aimed at undermining the Somali sovereignty.[14]
2007 Ogaden conflict
On January 15, ONLF rebels attacked Ethiopian soldiers in Kebri Dahar, Gerbo, and Fiq. Five Ethiopian soldiers and one ONLF rebel were reported killed.[15]
Raid on Abole oil exploration facility
On April 24, 2007, members of the ONLF attacked a camp for employees of Zhongyuan Petroleum Engineering, a Chinese oil exploration company, in Obale, Somali Region, killing approximately 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese nationals.[16] The ONLF claimed it had "completely destroyed" the camp.[14] Most of the Ethiopians killed in the attack were daily laborers, guards and other support staff. Some members of the Ethiopian security officials were also killed during the surprise attack however those killed by the ONLF included 30 civilians, the ONLF attack was perpetuated as the ONLF has a policy of not allowing the Ethiopian government to extract resources as this will not be shared with the impoverished and suppressed population of the Ogaden, the Ogaden is largely a marginalized region as rebels have battled successive governments claiming discrimination and most recently crimes against humanity this was backed by a human rights watch report into alleged abuses.[17] It was the most deadly single attack by the ONLF.[18]
Spring 2007 crackdown and insurgency
Shortly after the attack, the Ethiopian Army launched a military crackdown in Ogaden. The latest action of this crackdown resulted in the death of foreign relations chief Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dolal at the town of Danan as he met with other ONLF members.[19] Reportedly this has led to the ONLF splitting into two factions, with one group allied to current ONLF chairman Mohammed Omar Osman, and the other led by senior leader Abdiwali Hussein Gas, who appointed Salahudin Ma'ow as the new ONLF chairman and declared that he will "bring Mohammed Omar Osman to court".[20]
In April 2007, the Ethiopian government imposed a total commercial trade embargo on the war-affected area of the Somali Region (the Fiq, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe, and Werder Zones, where the Ogadeni Somali live), prohibiting all commercial truck movement in the region and across the border into Somalia, as well as the free movement of livestock by foot.[21] A tightly restricted and monitor tour by western journalist in the embattled region on the invitation of the regional administration reported on more alleged crimes by the Ethiopian government. A report by a Newsweek reporter detailed how Ethiopian military troops stormed a village southeast of Degahabur, accused the villagers of sympathizing with the ONLF, then razing the village and torturing and murdering many of the inhabitants.[22] In a communique, the ONLF claimed to have captured seven towns in the Somali Region on 10 November 2009 after two days of heavy fighting. The ONLF reported these towns as: Obolka, near Harar; Hamaro, east of Fiq; Higlaaley and Gunogabo near Degehabur; Yucub, 40 kilometers from Werder; Galadiid, 35 kilometers from Kebri Dahar; and Boodhaano near Gode.[23] Bereket Simon denied to Reuters that the ONLF had succeeded in capturing any towns, adding, "Their attacks last week were simply the desperate act of a dying force and about 245 of their fighters were killed."[24]
2010s
The ONLF continues to operate in the Ogaden as of 2011[update]. The Ethiopian military has stepped up its actions against ONLF following the organizations stated that it would attack the Malaysian oil company Petronas, which plans to extract oil from the Ogaden Basin.[25]
War crime allegations
During fighting between the ENDF and ONLF both sides were accused of war crimes and human rights violations.[1] In their 2008 report 'Collective Punishment' Human Rights Watch made a catalogue of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Ethiopian government in its fight against the ONLF.[1] According to the Chicago Tribune, "As of 2007, human rights groups and media reports accuse Ethiopia – a key partner in Washington's battle against terrorism in the volatile Horn of Africa – of burning villages, pushing nomads off their lands and choking off food supplies in a harsh new campaign of collective punishment against a restive ethnic Somali population in the Ogaden, a vast wilderness of rocks and thorns bordering chaotic Somalia".[26] The Ethiopian governments regional security chief for the Ogaden region, Abdi Mohammed Omar, asserted that over a two month period, some 200 civilians had been killed by the ONLF.[27] In May 2007, a grenade attack by ONLF rebels in the Somali region of Ethiopia claimed the lives of at least 11 Somalis.[28] During a national holiday ceremony held at the Ogaden town of Jijiga, the grenade thrown at the podium of the stadium also wounded Somali regional president Abdulahi Hassan Mohammed in the leg. Bereket Simon, an adviser to Prime Minister Meles, blamed the ONLF as well as Eritrea since it arms the ONLF. However, the ONLF denied the accusations.[29] An ONLF grenade attack on a cultural gathering in Jijiga killed four middle school students on May 28, 2007. In a separate attack, fifty civilians were injured, including the regional president Abdullahi Hassan, and three artists were killed on May 28, 2007 by the ONLF.[17] An ONLF attack on the town of the Debeweyin woreda in the Korahe Zone also left ten civilians dead, including two schoolteachers and a pregnant woman. A second attack on the town of Shilavo left five civilians dead, while an ONLF-planted landmine near Aware in the Degehabur Zone exploded, killing three civilians traveling by automobile. Another ONLF unit struck in the district of Lahelow near the Ethiopia-Somalia border, reportedly targeting members of the Isma'il Gum'adle sub-clan, twelve of whom were slain.[17]
Ceasefire and peacemaking efforts
The ONLF declared a unilateral ceasefire on 12 August 2018. [30]
On 4 November 2020 ONLF issued a statement on the current war in Ethiopia, calling on all concerned parties to 'immediately cease the current hostilities', they also called on the international community to 'spare no effort in helping parties find a peace settlement'.[31]
Notes and references
- ^ a b c "Collective Punishment: War Crimes and crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State" (pdf), Human Rights Watch Report (2008), p. 27
- ^ ""Ogaden National Anthem"". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
- ^ "Political Programme of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)"
- ^ a b Blair, David (2007-10-09). "Ethiopia's 'secret war' forces thousands to flee". Telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
The rebels recruit most of their fighters from the Ogaden clan, who account for about 2/3 of the region's population. But the authorities are exploiting bitter clan rivalries and arming local militias to fight the ONLF.
- ^ Tobias Hagman, "The Political Roots of the Current Crisis in Region 5" Archived 2010-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, published 21 September 2007, Crisis in the Horn of Africa website (accessed 17 November 2009)
- ^ "The Perils of the EPRDF Politics Towards the Somali Region" Archived 2011-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, an open letter dated 7 May 2005, signed by "Elders and Intellectuals of the Somali Regional State", published on the Wardheer News website (accessed 5 June 2009)
- ^ Mohamed Mohamud Abdi, A History of the Ogaden Struggle for Self-Determination. (United Kingdom: Lightning Source, 2007).
- ^ a b Abdi 2021, p. 147-148.
- ^ "Statement announcing the formation of the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy" (Press release). Alliance for Freedom and Democracy. 2006-05-22. Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ SudanTribune (2006-07-24). "ONLF shoots down Ethiopian military helicopter". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- ^ [1] Archived for subscribers only
- ^ "Ogaden rebels to resist Ethiopian army if it attacks Somali-statement". Sudan Tribune. Ogaden National Liberation Front. 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- ^ "Ogaden rebels destroy Ethiopian military convoy en route to Somalia". Sudan Tribune. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ a b "ONLF Statement On Military Operation Against Illegal Oil Facility In Ogaden" (Press release). Ogaden National Liberation Front. 2007-04-24. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ "ONLF rebels attack Ethiopian soldiers in 3 towns". Garowe Online. 2007-01-15. Archived from the original on 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (2007-04-24). "Ethiopian Rebels Kill 70 at Chinese-Run Oil Field". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- ^ a b c Dr. J. Peter Pham, "Regional dimensions of the human rights and Humanitarian situation in the 'Ogaden', Somalia, and beyond" Archived 2012-11-27 at the Wayback Machine: Testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, October 2, 2007 (accessed 5 June 2009)
- ^ ONLF massacre detailed Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Senior ONLF leader Killed" Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 27 January 2009)
- ^ "Ethiopia: Ogaden's ONLF breaks into two factions" Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Jimma Times, 3 March 2009 (accessed 9 March 2009)
- ^ "Collective Punishment: 'Economic war': Confiscation of Livestock, the Trade Embargo, and Other Restrictions", Human Rights Watch report, 11 June 2008 (accessed 17 November 2009)
- ^ Newsweek, January 22, 2008
- ^ "Ogaden rebels claim capture of seven towns" Archived 2010-02-11 at the Wayback Machine Sudan Times 15 November 2009 (accessed 16 November 2009)
- ^ "Ethiopia denies rebels have captured seven towns", Reuters website, published 16 November 2009 (accessed 17 November 2009)
- ^ ONLF and development issues
- ^ "Fallout from war on terror hits Ethiopia; U.S. ally battles its own insurgents" Chicago Tribune, published 9 July 2007 (accessed 17 November 2009)
- ^ "Silence essential in Ogaden" Archived 2008-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, News 24 website, 29 January 2008 (accessed 5 June 2009)
- ^ United States House of Representatives Detail report on some of the killings of civilians by ONLF Archived 2012-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Rebel throws grenade during ceremony, injuring Ethiopian regional leader" Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, AP wirestory 28 May 2007
- ^ "Declaration of Unilateral Ceasefire". ONLF. 12 August 2018.
- ^ "The current war in Ethiopia". ONLF. 4 November 2020.
External links
- List: Ogaden-Somali Members of Ethiopian Parliament
- Ogaden community/Somali state website
- Ogaden Community Website
- ONLF Website
- Ogaden Today
- Ethiopia: External and Internal Opponents, Library of Congress
- United Nations Emergency Unit for Ethiopia report, 1994
- Ogaden news website
- "In the shadow of Ethiopia's rebels" by Elizabeth Blunt, BBC News, 14 August 2007
- [2] ONLF leader, Abdirahman Sheikh Mahdi,
- Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder: Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
Bibilography
- Abdi, Mohamed Mohamud (2021). A History of the Ogaden (Western Somali) Struggle for Self-Determination: Part I (1300-2007) (2nd ed.). UK: Safis Publishing. ISBN 978-1-906342-39-5. OCLC 165059930.