PRETORIA, November 2. /TASS/. Leaders of the separatist Oromo Liberation Army have said they plan an advance on Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa, the Somali Guardian news website reported on Tuesday.
According to the news outlet, Oromo Liberation Army fighters are currently stationed north and east of Addis Ababa, trying to surround the city.
Spokesman for the Tigray People's Liberation Front Getachew Reda told Reuters earlier that Tigray's defense forces had made contact with Oromo Liberation Army units. Reda pointed out however that the Tigray People's Liberation Front currently had no plans to advance on the Ethiopian capital but could launch an offensive operation under certain conditions.
According to information from South African military circles, fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Army could have joined up with each other on November 1 near the town of Kamisee (Kemise) controlled by the Oromo Liberation Army after Tigray rebels had come close to the towns of Harbu and Bati, 350 kilometers north of Addis Ababa.
In August, the leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Army signed an agreement on joint actions against Ethiopia's government in order to overthrow it. The Oromo Liberation Army is the military wing of the Oromo Liberation Front. The group's leaders seek the independence of Oromia, Ethiopia's most densely populated region.