SUMMARY
ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front, or “Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeenya” in Somali) was a rebel organization active in Ethiopia’s Ogaden territorial conflict. From the 1200s to 1974, Ethiopia was an independent empire that eventually became known as “Abyssinia”; it was one of the few African states that avoided colonization by an European power. Abyssinia was ruled by a succession of Emperors, of which Haile Selassie I was the last one. In September 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by a Marxist-Leninist military junta that later became known as the Provisional Military Council (PMAC); the junta was however most known as the “Derg”, which was a shortened version of its name. The new Derg-led Government of Ethiopia then initiated the implementation of a socialist system, and the purging of opposing elements. Not long after the coup, the Derg began facing an ever increasing number of domestic challengers, both for government power and separatist agendas. It was in this context that ONLF emerged. The group claimed that Ogaden – a large swath of territory in eastern Ethiopia – was “an oppressed nation colonized by Ethiopia”, and pledged to establish an independent Ogaden state (“Ogaadeenia”). ONLF claimed to represent the Somali, an ethnic minority group residing primarily in eastern Ethiopia. While the Somali constitute only about 6 percent of Ethiopa’s population, they make up the majority of Ogaden’s inhabitants. ONLF claimed that the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region had "neither the same culture, nor the same history, nor even the same religion as Ethiopia". Historically, the Somali have remained outside Ethiopian politics, and the group has suffered serious demographic and economic stress due to severe droughts. However, some parts of Somali society claim that ONLF is primarily a vehicle for furthering the interests of the Ogaadeeni clan – by far the largest of the Ogaden Somali clans - and not the entire Somali population, which is comprised of a multitude of different clans.
ONLF was formed in August 1984 following internal splits within WSLF (Western Somali Liberation Front), a rebel organization that had been active in eastern Ethiopia since the mid-1970s. The Government of Somalia had been instrumental in WSLF’s formation in the mid-1970s, and it had used the group as a “proxy” in its conflict against Ethiopia’s Derg regime. Several ONLF founders – many of which were relatively young intellectuals - were thus ex-WSLF members that sought to distance themselves from the old movement, and from the influence of the Somali government; this was made clear by the group’s choice of name, which contained “Ogaden” rather than “Western Somalia”. While it is clear that the group was formed in August 1984, it did not make its first public announcement until 1986. During the first years after its formation, ONLF did not have any significant military capacity, and there were no reports of it actually challenging the Derg regime militarily. After EPRDF – a rebel coalition led by TPLF – ousted the Derg in May 1991 (see Ethiopia: Government), ONLF decided to accept the new government’s offer of prospective regional autonomy. ONLF subsequently joined the EPRDF-led “transitional council”, and thus became part of the Government of Ethiopia from 1991.
When the first local and regional elections were held in 1992, ONLF won with a wide margin and took over the administration of the newly formed "Somali region”. Coexisting uneasily through 1992 and 1993, the relationship between ONLF and the Ethiopian government broke down in February 1994, after regional parliamentarians voted to exercise the right of self-determination, enshrined in the new Ethiopian National Charter. In late 1994, ONLF split in two, with one going underground to wage an armed struggle, and the other opting to remain a political party (eventually solidified as the Somali People’s Democratic Party/SPDP). The more militant ONLF faction formed an armed wing called the “Ogaden National Liberation Army” (ONLA), which began sporadic guerrilla attacks against government forces within Ogaden before the end of the year. It was after this that ONLF/ONLA emerged as an armed non-state actor in the UCDP data.
Sheikh Ibrahim Abdulah served as ONLF chairman until 1998, when he was replaced by Mohamed Omar Osman; the latter had previously served as a marine in Somalia. For much of ONLF’s existence, its political leadership has been based abroad. Following disagreement within the ONLF leadership, a faction led by Mohamed Sirad Dolaal splintered from the group; Salahdin Abdulrahman Maow later led this faction. As already indicated above, ONLF was a negligible military force prior to 1994. While few reliable sources exists on the ONLA’s total troop numbers exist in the post-1994 era, it was suggested that the group may have had as many as 8000 fighters in 2007 and 2008. ONLF’s main recruitment base was farmers residing in areas controlled by the Ogaadeeni clan. Likewise, ONLF’s main areas of operation was found in zones inhabited by the Ogaadeeni clan, such as Degehabur, Fiq, Gode, Korahe, and Warder.
In June 1996, ONLF signed a political and military agreement with fellow Ethiopian rebel group OLF (Oromo Liberation Front), in which the two groups announced their intentions to coordinate their activities in the diplomatic, political and military fields. However, it is unclear if anything came of this agreement in 1996. In 1999, the group shared bases in Somali with their Oromo counterpart OLF. They also carried out joint attacks on Ethiopian forces. During the late 1990s, ONLF relied on al-Itahad al-Islami (AIAI) for financial assistance. Furthermore, AIAI shared bases and coordinated its armed struggle with ONLF, and the two groups fought together on at least one occasion in 1999.
Eritrea provided arms, training, and financial aid to ONLF as a part of its military strategy in the interstate conflict with Ethiopia. Apart from being the main arms supplier, Eritrea facilitated training for ONLF fighters inside Somalia and assisted in setting up a radio station allowing the group to transmit into the Ogaden region. Furthermore, ONLF fighters received training by the Eritrean military, including basic infantry-, heavy weapons-, explosives-, telecommunications-, and tank training. In more recent years, Eritrea continued to provide financial aid and training, but it was unclear whether it continued to send weapons to ONLF.
