Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Ethiopia, the Ogaden and Peace

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 6 August 2013 an analysis titled "Ethiopia: Prospects for Peace in Ogaden."  It reports the peace talks between the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the government of Ethiopia that stalled in October 2012 may restart.  The ICG comments that the Ethiopian government's commitment to the talks is important but undermined by a parallel strategy of piecemeal deals with disgruntled ONLF members.  For its part, the ONLF's leadership lacks a unified vision of the talks' outcome, shifting along a spectrum of options, between reconciliation with the state in return for significant autonomy and outright secession.