Dozens of members of Ethiopia’s federal parliament – from Oromia – have urged the government to hold talks with a banned rebel group to resolve the security crisis in the region.
Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has been proscribed as a “terrorist group.”
In the past five years, rebel attacks and confrontations with the military have made areas in western and southern parts of the populous region insecure and almost uninhabitable.
OLA has carried out attacks in Oromia and in neighbouring Amhara region sparking revenge attacks.
In a letter to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 80 lawmakers urged his government to end the insecurity.
Recent violence has forced tens of thousands of residents in Horro Guduru and East Wollega in western Oromia out of their homes.
Pressure is growing on the government to agree on a peace deal with OLA similar to the one reached with the rebels in the northern Tigray region.
