Ethiopia, Oromo rebels fail to reach deal in 2nd round of peace talks

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - A second round of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and representatives of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group ended without an agreement on Tuesday.

The talks in Tanzania for the past two weeks between government representatives and the rebels were aimed at ending the more than five-year-old conflict in the Oromia region.

National security adviser Redwan Hussien said Tuesday in a statement on X that the peace talks have failed due to the “intransigence of the other party,” and the “obstructive approach and unrealistic demands of the other party are the principal reasons why these talks could not succeed.”

The rebels said the Ethiopian government was “only interested in co-optation of the leadership of the OLA rather than beginning to address the fundamental problems that underlie the county's seemingly insurmountable security and political challenges.”

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced in late April talks with the OLA -- an active rebel group operating in the country's largest and most populous region of Oromia.

The violence in Oromia has killed hundreds and displaced thousands of families.

Last year, peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group bore fruit as the warring sides agreed to a peace deal in South Africa.

The war between government forces and Tigray rebels erupted in November 2020 after the TPLF attacked federal army bases stationed in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

Since then, the Tigray conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.