Ogaden National Liberation Front
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, abbreviated ONLF, is a Somali nationalist armed and political organization seeking self-determination for the Somali-inhabited Ogaden.
Founded in 1984 by former members of the Western Somali Liberation Front, the ONLF initially pursued political autonomy through Ethiopia’s federal system after the collapse of the Derg regime during 1991. It won a regional majority in 1992, but growing disillusionment with the federal arrangement, political exclusion, and repression by the central government led the ONLF to launch an armed insurgency in 1994. Over the following decades, the group waged a sustained guerrilla campaign across the Somali Region, targeting Ethiopian National Defense Force positions and resource extraction projects by the central government that it viewed as exploitative.
In 2018, the group signed a peace agreement with the new Ethiopian government led by Abiy Ahmed and transitioned into a legal political party, though tensions have resurfaced during 2025 amid claims of unfulfilled promises and repression in the Somali Region. On 18 January 2026, in Jigjiga, the ONLF, Congress for Somali Cause, and the Somali Regional Democratic Alliance announced the formation of the Somali People’s Alliance for Self-Determination. The alliance stated its creation was to unify the "Somali political agency" and end the "era of futile negotiation" with the Ethiopian government, which they accuse of repression and policies threatening Somali livelihoods.
History
The Somali struggle for self-determination in the Ogaden has been ongoing since Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II's invasions during the late 1880s. During early 1900, the anti-colonial Somali Dervish movement fought against the expansion of the Ethiopian Empire. The first organized post-Somali independence resistance began with Nasrallah during the 1963-1965 rebellion. Nasrallah served as the foundation of the Western Somali Liberation Front which was formed in the early 1970s.Founding and formation
Following the 1977-1978 Ogaden War, many supporters of the Western Somali Liberation Front became disillusioned with the organizations increasing reliance on Mogadishu and were frustrated by international portrayals of the struggle in the Ogaden as merely a border matter between Ethiopia and Somalia. The ONLF was founded in 1984 by six disaffected members of the WSLF: Abdirahman Mahdi, Mohamed Ismail Omar, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdallah Mohamed, Abdi Ibrahim Ghehleh, Abdirahman Yusuf Magan and Abdulahi Muhammed Sa'adi. The organization was immediately banned by the government of Siad Barre.In 1988, the Barre and Mengistu regimes came to an accord not to support insurgencies in each others territories. The WSLF, ONLF, and other liberation groups issued public declarations condemning the Somali governments new stance on the Ogaden. After putting significant pressure against the WSLF, the Somali government effectively dismantled it that same year. To the ONLF and many Somalis in the region, the agreement confirmed that the Somali government was no longer sincere about the liberation struggle. Consequently, the 1988 accord improved the organizations prospects for mobilization. As the Somali state collapsed at the end of 1990, the US government had resolved to avoid a similar fate in Ethiopia post-Mengistu. On 27 May 1991, the US invited the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front and Oromo Liberation Front to talks in London. The ONLF requested to participate, but was turned down by the US.
1992 conference and election victory
Garigo'an conference
From 1984 to 1992, the organization lacked effective formal structures of its own, and was instead represented by different Ogaden groups under the ONLF banner that supported the groups ideals. On 17 January 1992, at Garigo'an near Garbo, a central committee led by Sheikh Ibrahim Abdallah was elected. This would lay the foundation for an organized and cohesive organization.To take part in the upcoming 1992 regional elections the two existing Somali political entities in the Ogaden, the ONLF and Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya, organized themselves into different constituencies across the Ogaden. Later that year the Ethiopian government forces attacked AIAI's headquarters in the region killing several high ranking figures. Following the attack, Al-Itihaad quickly regrouped and declared a jihad against the Ethiopian military presence in the region. As fighting between AIAI and the Ethiopian military raged throughout 1992, a serious internal debate and two factions emerged within the ONLF over whether to join the war. One wing argued that it was clear that the new Ethiopian government was not serious about self-rule and democracy, so the armed struggle should be resumed. The opposing side argued that the government should still be given a chance considering the upcoming regional elections slated for December 1992. It was also noted that the organization only possessed a small military wing. Eventually the argument to refrain from joining the war and struggle through democratic means prevailed, and the government's war against AIAI ended in a ceasefire soon before the elections.
December elections and participation in government
By the time Mengistu regime fell, the ONLF had significantly consolidated its position among ethnic Somalis in Ogaden, and joined the Transitional Government. The ONLF announced elections in December 1992 for District Five in Ethiopia, and won 80% of the seats of the local parliament. Though the war between Al-Itihaad and the government had ended before the election, AIAI did not participate. ONLF nominated Abdullahi Muhumed Sa'di for the Region's presidency, and other members for the vice-presidency and the Executive body; the regional parliament elected them in a majority vote. ONLF elected officials ruled the territory until the transitional government ended with the adoption of a new constitution. At that time the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front pushed for a new partner in the region, which led to the founding of the Ethiopian Somali Democratic League at Hurso in 1993.Rise of ONLF insurgency
Tensions and fallout with EPRDF
Since 1992, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front dominated EPRDF sought to curb Somali demands for self-determination by influencing politics in the region. To this end the central government portrayed the ESDL as a pan-Somali organization in contrast to the Ogaden clan dominated ONLF. While many Somalis saw the ESDL as a merely an extension of the Ethiopian government, the strategy put the ONLF under greater pressure. Despite an agreement between the central government and the ONLF to cooperate on security and administration in the lead up to the 1992 elections, a mutual suspicion existed. Following the 1992 attack on Al-Itihaad, mistrust of the EPRDF within the ONLF greatly deepened. The 1995 general elections were boycotted by the majority of the ONLF, Al-Itihaad and large segments of the Ogaden population due to governments heavy handed interference in the political process. Some ONLF members who opposed the boycott participated in the elections, and performed poorly. Major discontent was provoked by the EPRDF led government after it had moved the state capital from Gode to Jigjiga in 1994. Following the boycott, the government went so far as to form another organization called 'New ONLF'. The 'New ONLF' and ESDL won the 1995 elections and then merged into the Somali People's Democratic Party.Rebellion
In 1994, fighting between Ethiopian forces and the ONLF began at Werder, resulting in several days of clashes. Post-1995, armed conflict in the Ogaden sharply increased. During military confrontations between the ONLF and the military, government forces enacted brutal measures that included summary executions, extensive detentions without prosecution, disappearances and torture in a bid to crush the insurgency. In response to heavy handed measures, the ONLF began reaching out to the Oromo Liberation Front and the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front. Agreements to coordinate activities with both groups were signed. In response to this development, the EPRDF intensified operations and began labelling these groups 'terrorists'. In a bid to gain control of the region, different Somali leaders were imprisoned or assassinated by the central government.Despite an intensive government military campaign against the ONLF from 1994 to 1996, the organization survived and grew in strength. While the ONLF was effectively composed of numerous differing groups, the governments political interference and brutal counterinsurgency measures led many Somalis in the Ogaden to rally behind it. Previous internal fractures within the organization greatly dissipated in this period, resulting in the ONLF becoming a more cohesive force than it had ever previously been. Until the late 1990s the ONLF was diplomatically isolated, with no ties to outside groups. While the organization had proved to be an effective military force, its armed wing was relatively small for the organizations size and was severely underequipped. In 1998, the organization held its second conference where a new leader, Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman, was elected. His tenure would see the ONLF's military wing greatly expand in strength over the following years. Significantly he also brought the organization out of diplomatic isolation by forging connections regionally and internationally.
As the Eritrean–Ethiopian War was ongoing, the ONLF opened offices in Eritrea during 1999. Eritrea backed the ONLF until the peace deal hosted by Eritrea in Asmara ended the insurgency in 2018.
2000s insurgency
In 2001, ONLF training camps were operational in Eritrea and by 2002 training began for the first contingent of ONLF female fighters. Over the early 2000's the ONLF's military capabilities expanded and the organization began stepping up attacks against Ethiopian military positions in the Ogaden, with a significant escalation in armed conflict occurring during 2005. The Ethiopian government took advantage of the war on terror to routinely label opposition movements terrorists, and accused the ONLF of being associated with and linked to Al-Qaeda.On 21 May 2006 the ONLF entered into an alliance with five different Ethiopian opposition groups in an effort to strengthen the resistance to the TPLF dominated central government. Included were the Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front, the Oromo Liberation Front, and the Sidama Liberation Front.