Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia

The IFLO (Islamic Front for Liberation of Oromia), now known as the FIDO (Front for Independent Democratic Oromia since 2005)is an Oromo based polito-military organization founded in 1985 by Commander in Chief Jaarra Abbaa Gadaa.

The group was politically and militarily based in eastern Ethiopia, controlling portions of the countryside in the eastern highlands and Jijiga region by the time overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam in spring of 1991. They then joined the TGE (Transitional Government of Ethiopia) where the party held 3 seats out of the 27 reserved for Oromo parties. The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) held 12, while the OPDO held 10 of 27.

Conflicts

Apart from its armed insurgency against the Derg which was overthrown in 1991, the IFLO later began clashing with other dominant parties in what was the TGE, namely the TPLF. The clashes were sparked by alleged TPLF/EPRDF acts of sabotage and aggression towards the organization. This began immedietly following the overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam Some examples being:

On January 18, 1992, two leaders of the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia (IFLO), Sheikh Abdel Rahman Yusuf and Izzeldin Mohamed Ahmed, were killed by the EPRDF in Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia. Five others were wounded. The EPRDF claimed that the IFLO leaders failed to halt their car at a roadblock and opened fire on the EPRDF guards; the IFLO claims that the incident was a planned ambush, and pointed to the killing of another of its leaders, Faisal Birru, and the wounding of others, in the previous months by the EPRDF.

The home of Ato Mehammed Chello(Wereda 23, Qebele 12, House No. 941 in Addis Ababa was converted into a prison for three days, from September 25 starting at about 5:15 a.m. until September 27, 1993. A group of armed persons belonging to EPRDF occupied the home, alleging that Ato Mehammed has hidden certain individuals they were looking for and demanding to know their whereabouts. Ato Mehammed and three other men were tied tightly with ropes and beaten in front of their family members. The rope with which their hands were tied and the beating has caused severe damage to their bodies.

Ato Mehammed Chello a member of the Central Committee of IFLO and once a member of the Council of Representatives of the Transitional Government.

Tesfaye Deressa and Bekele Mekonnen of Urji newspaper were charged in December 1995 with "publishing false information and disseminating it internationally" in connection with their report of a military communique by the OLF and (IFLO).

After withdrawing from the TGE and boycotting the 1992 general elections, the group went back to the bush with the objective of toppling the EPRDF and has claimed responsibility for many operations launched against EPRDF targets since.

A New Face (from IFLO to FIDO)

The organization has been keeping a low profile, while sorting out long-running internal disputes which appear to have been settled. The organization in 2005 put down its religious banner and answered the peoples question when it took the name FIDO (Front for Independent Democratic Oromia) and promised to lead Oromos of all religious backgrounds. The groups leader Com. Jaarra Abbaa Gadaa vowing in a 2006 radio interview with Sagalee Oromiyaa from an undisclosed location, said that the group planned to resume its campaign, and to bring together all Oromos of all religious backgrounds.

Links and References

http://www.fidohome.orghttp://www.osar.ch/imgupload/gutachten_laenderberichte/0211-dokumentation-wb-aethiopien.pdfhttp://www.isic-centre.org/Bulletins/93_Aug_Sep.pdfhttp://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1995_hrp_report/95hrp_report_africa/Ethiopia.htmlhttp://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Nglt8pfWOa4J:www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia925.pdf+IFLO+ethiopia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=26001