Addis Ababa (AX) – The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has rejected claims that it joined a newly formed alliance of Ethiopian opposition and armed groups seeking to oust Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, saying its name was used without permission.
In a statement issued Monday, the ONLF said it was not involved in the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, unveiled by seven groups representing different parts of Ethiopia.
- Advertisement -
The organization said people linked to a rival faction headed by Abdirahman Mohamed Sheikh Mahdi had associated its name with the alliance without authorization and did not speak for the ONLF.
“The individuals who used the organization’s name in the alliance include members led by Abdirahman Sheikh Mahdi, and this action does not reflect the party’s official position,” the statement said.
The ONLF also reiterated its commitment to a 2018 peace agreement with Ethiopia’s federal government. The accord ended decades of armed insurgency and enabled the movement to pursue its political goals through peaceful political activity.
According to the group, that commitment remains intact, and its current political strategy rules out partnerships with armed organizations engaged in conflict.
The ONLF urged Ethiopia’s federal government, the Somali Regional State administration, political parties, civil society organizations, neighboring states and the international community to acknowledge its official stance.
The statement followed the announcement, one day earlier, of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. The coalition brings together seven organizations from multiple regions, including groups that fought on opposite sides of Ethiopia’s 2020-2022 civil war.
The groups listed in the announcement were the Fano Amhara People’s Front, Oromo Liberation Front, Tigray People’s Liberation Front, ONLF, Ugugumo, Benishangul People’s Liberation Front and Gumuz People’s Democratic Front.
The alliance said it aimed to remove Abiy’s government and create an inclusive transitional administration. The ONLF, for its part, said it was named as a member without its consent.
Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, said the groups in the alliance had already been working together with financial support from neighboring Eritrea, a longstanding regional rival of Ethiopia.
“The recent announcement is only attesting to what the Ethiopian government has been alleging time and again,” Billene wrote in a text message Monday.
Eritrea has repeatedly rejected such allegations. The country’s information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ONLF has experienced continuing leadership disputes, with competing factions asserting that they represent the organization.
A faction led by Abdirahman Mohamed Sheikh Mahdi operates outside Ethiopia’s Somali Region and has opposed policies pursued by both the regional and federal governments. Some members of the group have recently suggested that a return to armed struggle remains possible.
A separate faction, led by Abdikarin Sheikh Muse Qalbidhagax, is based in Jigjiga and functions as a registered political party.
