Posts falsely claim Ethiopian opposition parties held peace talks with ruling party

Armed conflict continues between the Ethiopian army and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in several areas of the Oromia region. Facebook posts claim that two major opposition parties from the region have held peace talks with Ethiopia’s ruling party to end the fighting. However, this is false; a group of opposition parties and civil society organisations recently met to draw up a roadmap to peace for Oromia, but the talks did not include the ruling party.

The headline of the post published on Facebook in Afaan Oromoo, one of Ethiopia’s main languages, reads: “Peace talks between OFC, OLF and PP parties has begun in Finfinnee.”

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on February 24, 2025 

OFC and OLF stand for two opposition parties in the region: the Oromo Federalist Congress and the Oromo Liberation Front. PP stands for the country’s ruling Prosperity Party. 

Finfinnee is the Oromo name for Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. 

The post is accompanied by photos of Merara Gudina, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Daud Ibsa, the leaders of the OFC, PP and OLF, respectively. 

Similar claims were also shared here and here on Facebook. 

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screenshots of the false posts, taken on February 24, 2025

Armed conflict 

The Ethiopian army and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have been fighting each other in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, since 2018. 

The armed conflict has caused severe humanitarian crises, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (archived here). 

Peace talks held in 2023 between the federal government and the OLA in Tanzania twice ended without agreement (archived here). 

However, the claim that Oromo opposition parties held peace talks with the ruling Prosperity Party in Addis Ababa is false.

Joint conference 

The opposition OLF and OFC parties, along with civil society organisations, conducted a four-day conference in Addis Ababa from February 19-22 to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Oromia region (archived here). 

In a resolution written during the conference and sent to AFP Fact Check, the two parties announced a roadmap for the formation of a “transitional government of national unity of Oromia”.

The resolution lists the 16 political and civil society organisations that participated in the conference. The ruling Prosperity Party was not on the list.

In addition, the leaders of the OLF and OFC confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the ruling party did not participate and that the opposition parties have not held separate peace talks with the ruling party, either.

“PP was not invited and did not participate in this joint conference. We also have not held any peace talks with the ruling party,” Lemi Gemechu, a spokesperson for OLF, told AFP Fact Check.  

AFP Fact Check contacted the ruling PP for comment and will update this story when an answer is received.