Fragmented ONLF issues statement as conflicts spread across Ethiopia

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) Central Committee said it convened an “extraordinary meeting” to assess what it described as a worsening political and humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, alongside “increasing repression” targeting Somali communities.

In a communiqué issued on Monday, the ONLF accused the Ethiopian government of “fully and deliberately” violating the 2018 peace agreement that ended decades of armed conflict. The group said political commitments made under the accord had been abandoned and alleged that its members had faced “harassment, detention, and office closures,” while Somali communities continued to endure “surveillance, intimidation, and systematic rights violations.” The ONLF said it will adopt a “renewed political and diplomatic posture” in response to the situation.

According to the statement, the organisation intends to reinforce its “structures and bolster mobilisation efforts across Somali communities,” asserting that Somalis must play an active role in “protecting their national rights” amid Ethiopia’s political instability. On the diplomatic front, the ONLF said it would “intensify engagement with regional and international bodies, including the United Nations, African Union, IGAD, human rights organisations, and democratic governments,” in an effort to raise concerns about alleged violations in the Ogaden and the perceived breach of the peace deal. The communiqué reiterated the ONLF’s solidarity with other “oppressed nations” in Ethiopia and stressed support for what it described as a “multinational democratic transition” based on the right to self-determination.

The group alleged that the Prosperity Party has begun a coercive recruitment drive aimed at bringing 20,000 Somali youths into the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and that local districts were instructed to gather livestock to fund the war effort. The ONLF contended that these actions constitute “collective punishment” of vulnerable populations.

The ONLF further accused elements within the ruling party of provoking territorial tensions along Somali-Oromo and Somali-Afar boundaries and of engineering new administrative zones within the Ogaden to weaken Somali political cohesion. The organization declared Somali territorial rights “non-negotiable.”

The statement from the ONLF comes at a time when the organization itself is grappling with an internal leadership crisis and the absence of a coherent political framework. The movement has splintered into factions, and some groups within the Somali Region have already declared that they have elected a new leader, following a disputed congress election. This internal conflict remains unresolved. Although the regional president has been accused of fueling the organization’s internal divisions, he continues to deny these allegations.

The timing of the ONLF statement also coincides with Ethiopia’s deepening national crisis. The country is once again hearing the drums of war. In Tigray — where one of the most brutal civil wars in post-colonial Africa erupted in 2020, with death toll estimates reaching into the hundreds of thousands — tensions are rising once more. The cessation of hostilities agreement between the TPLF and the federal government appears to be on the brink of collapse. Reports indicate both sides are preparing for a major confrontation. The Ethiopian government has already dissolved the TPLF as a legal political entity, undermining one of the central pillars of the Pretoria Agreement. Clashes have also been reported along the Tigray–Afar border, with the TPLF accusing the federal government of conducting drone strikes against its forces. The federal side, in turn, insists that the TPLF is collaborating with Eritrea to plot a new war against Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia themselves continue to rise. This week, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of territorial encroachment, fueling growing fears of a new interstate conflict in the north. The Amhara Region also remains unstable. The Fano, an ethno-nationalist armed movement, has been carrying out operations against the Ethiopian defense forces in several parts of Amhara. Eskinder Nega, chairperson of the Amhara Fano People’s Organization, has recently accused the government of committing “genocide” against the Amhara population, alleging that it is engineering a humanitarian crisis in the region and calling for a “constitutional change.”

Although the ONLF itself remains fragmented, politically paralyzed, and steadily losing influence, its latest statement comes at a moment when Ethiopia’s major regions are facing profound security crises. The fear of renewed insurgencies and resurgent resistance movements across the country is growing, and the ONLF’s message reflects this increasingly volatile political and security crisis.