APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) A total of 155 suspected rebels from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have recently surrendered to government troops, the Ethiopian army claims.
A statement from the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) says the suspected rebels surrendered in the East Shoa zone of Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
“The individuals had been secretly collecting funds for the rebel group as well as engaged in propaganda and abductions” the statement adds.
The Ethiopian army also discloses it had confiscated scores of infantry weapons and two motorcycles from those captured.
The OLA is a breakaway faction of the ex-rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition political organisation claiming to fight for the rights of ethnic Oromos who make up about 35 percent of Ethiopia’s population of more than 110 million.
The OLA, with an estimated 3,000 fighters, operates mainly in the western and southern parts of the Oromia regional state, the principal homeland of ethnic Oromos.
In May 2021, the Ethiopian parliament voted to designate the OLA a terrorist group, a designation that is still in effect.
MG/as/APA