The negotiations in Tanzania were followed by talks in April and May, which also failed to produce an agreement.

A second round of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and a rebel group to end a decades-long conflict in the country’s largest region, Oromiya, has ended without an agreement, both sides said on Tuesday.

Negotiations in Tanzania between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) were followed by talks in April and May that also failed to produce an agreement.

The OLA is a banned splinter group of a formerly banned opposition party that returned from exile in 2018. Their complaints stem from the alleged marginalization and neglect of the people of Oromiya, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa.

Violence in Oromiya has killed hundreds of people in recent years and has been one of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s biggest security concerns since the end of a two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region last year.

“Due to the intransigence of the other party, the talks ended without agreement,” said Redwan Hussien, Abiy’s national security adviser, in a post on the social media site X. “The obstructive approach and unrealistic demands of the other party are the Main reasons why these discussions could not be successful.”

1/5 The government of FDRE has initiated peace talks with Shene/OLF-OLA with a desire to end the suffering caused by the conflict in some parts of the Oromia region. The two rounds of talks came to a conclusion without an agreement.

– Redwan Hussien (@RedwanHussien) November 21, 2023

In a statement, OLA accused the government of failing to address the “fundamental issues underlying the county’s seemingly insurmountable security and political challenges.”

The East African trade bloc IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) said on Wednesday it was “optimistic” about further talks. Its executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, appealed to the parties to “maintain their commitment to the peace process in the best interests of the Ethiopian people.”

“IGAD will continue to monitor the situation and stands ready to provide unwavering support to both sides in their pursuit of a peaceful resolution of the situation,” the statement said.

The government reached a peace deal in November 2022 to end the conflict in Tigray after tens of thousands of people were killed and millions were displaced. But conflict raged elsewhere.

Next to Oromia, Battle In the neighboring Amhara region, hundreds of people have been killed between government troops and local militiamen since late July. Tensions have increased since the federal government announced in April it would disband regional forces nationwide, sparking protests from Amhara nationalists who said the move would weaken their region.

The fierce fighting pitted federal forces – known as the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) – against local Fano fighters. Fano, an informal armed group with no publicly known command structure that recruits volunteers from the local population, was an ally in the ENDF’s war against Tigray.