Ethiopian government talks with OLA kicks off in Tanzania

NAIROBI, Kenya - Talks between the Oromo Liberation Army [OLA] and the federal government of Ethiopia have kicked off in Tanzania's Island of Zanzibar, a spokesperson confirmed, with the main objective being to set grounds of engagement and expectations from both groups.

OLA, a rebel group in the federal republic of Ethiopia, has been fighting with government forces over what they term social inequality and discrimination in terms of resource sharing with elements of politics also eclipsing the stalemate. Coincidentally, the current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed comes from Oromia.

"These initial talks are intended to establish a foundation for more extensive discussions in the very near future," said Odaa Tarbii, the spokesperson of the group, adding that Kenya and Norway were meditating.

"The focus at this point is confidence building and clarifying positions."

While appreciating the peace processes in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hinted at talks with the group in Tanzania, insisting on the need to foster peace and development in the Horn of Africa nation. Throughout his tenure, Ahmed has been handling internal rebellion.

Tanzania's Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax told reporters on Tuesday that they had accepted a request to host the talks and some delegates had begun arriving. The group has been fighting since 2018 after a nasty divorce with Oromo Liberation Front [OLF] which renounced armed struggle.

The insurgency in the Oromia region has paved the way for more armed groups to be born although it is unclear if they are tied. The group has been causing havoc in the country but analysts believe that its fighters are not sufficiently equipped to cause armed struggle in the Horn of Africa nation.

Oromia region surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, thus raising serious security concerns in the capital and the pressure has been piling on the group to drop weapons and embrace peace partially because Abiy Ahmed comes from the ethnic Oromo which is one of Ethiopia's dominant tribes now running government courtesy of him.

GAROWE ONLINE