Ethiopia’s Oromo rebel leader says fight is against government, not civilians

Ethiopia’s most wanted rebel commander, Jaal Marroo, whose real name is Kumsa Diriba, says his fighters are battling government forces to end what he describes as generations of oppression against the Oromo people, rejecting accusations that his group targets civilians.

Marroo, who leads the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), spoke in a rare interview with the Associated Press from a forest hideout in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, home to about 40 million people.

The Ethiopian government has designated the OLA a terrorist organization and accuses it of carrying out ethnically motivated attacks, including massacres of civilians.

“Our war is not against the people,” Marroo told the AP. “It is against the brutal regime that has occupied and oppressed the nation for generations,” adding that they “ are fighting to correct a system that treats the Oromo as subjects rather than citizens.”

The OLA has emerged as one of Ethiopia’s most persistent insurgent movements, operating primarily in Oromia. Originally linked to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the group split away after the OLF entered mainstream politics in 2018. Since then, the OLA has pursued armed resistance against the federal government, claiming to represent the political and cultural interests of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.

At the core of the OLA’s political agenda is the demand for greater autonomy and recognition of Oromo identity. Many Oromo argue that they have been historically marginalized within Ethiopia’s political system despite their demographic majority. The OLA frames its campaign as a “liberation struggle,” seeking cultural rights, political representation, and greater control over local resources. Leaders such as Marroo, portray armed resistance as a necessary response to what they describe as “decades of repression.”

Recent fighting has been concentrated in western and southern Oromia, where the OLA has relied on guerrilla tactics, including ambushes and attacks on military convoys. In response, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have launched counter-insurgency operations and drone strikes aimed at dismantling OLA strongholds. Despite these efforts, the group’s decentralized structure and ability to blend into local communities have allowed it to remain resilient, prolonging the conflict.

The humanitarian toll has been severe. Civilians in Oromia have faced displacement, loss of livelihoods, and exposure to violence. Human rights organizations have accused the OLA of ethnic-based killings, while government forces have also been criticized for heavy-handed tactics that harm non-combatants. Compared with the war in Tigray, the conflict in Oromia has received limited international attention, leaving many communities without sufficient humanitarian assistance.

Marroo’s comments come amid escalating instability across Ethiopia. For months, government forces have been locked in fierce fighting with Amhara militia groups in the Amhara region. More recently, renewed clashes and drone strikes in Tigray have drawn international concern, with regional and international bodies urging restraint. In Oromia, meanwhile, the deteriorating security situation adds another layer of volatility to an already weak political and security landscape.