The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) (Amharic: ኦጋዴን፡ብሔራዊ፡ነፃነት፡ግንባር?; Somali: Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeenya, ), (Arabic: الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوغادين) is a separatist rebel group fighting to make the region of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an independent state. ONLF, established in 1984, demands for the autonomy of this region, and claimed responsibility for several attacks since the beginning of 2007 aimed at Ethiopian forces in the area, which the government considers a region under the new federal system. The area of the Ogaden region stretches at least about 400 thousand square kilometers. There live nearly eight million people, mainly Somali. Because Ogaden is populated by many ethnic Somalis, the ONLF claims that Ethiopia is an occupying government. However, the Ogaden people are represented in the Ethiopian government by a number of groups, including the opposition Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP). The ONLF is composed mainly of members of the Ogaden clan, specifically "the Rer Abdalle sub-clan of the Mohammed Zubeir." The armed wing of the ONLF is the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA). The ONLF has been designated a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government.
Read more about Ogaden National Liberation Front: History, Effects On Ethiopia and The Somali Civil War, Abole Raid, Subsequent Conflict, Somali Deaths, Discovery of Oil, Other ONLF Attacks
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