Founded in 1984, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) is an active insurgent group in eastern Ethiopia that seeks to establish an independent state for the Somali people in the Ogaden region of the Horn of Africa. Its members are largely drawn from the Ogaden and Darood ethnic groups, whose traditional lands stretch from eastern Ethiopia to central Somalia.<br /><p><br />The ONLF accuses the Ethiopian government of widespread human rights abuses in the Ogaden, including illegally confiscating private property, interfering with relief work, and wrongfully expropriating international aid destined for the region. As such, they counter government influence in the region by staging ambushes and guerrilla-style raids on government forces. The ONLF is also known to kidnap foreign workers thought to be agents of the Ethiopian government or supporters of the regime in Addis Ababa. In the late 1980s, the ONLF grew to be the most dangerous insurgent group in Ethiopia, and it is widely believed that the group is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of government troops. The abundance of religious and clan-affiliated regional terrorist groups makes it difficult to substantiate claims of responsibility for terror attacks committed in the area.<br /><p><br />The ONLF was known to conduct joint operations with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which represented a different clan whose indigenous territories lie in the western portion of the Ogaden. The OLF, once the dominant anti-Ethiopian force in the region, has seen its power dwindle significantly with the ascent of the ONLF and has been content to ally with the ONLF and other groups to fight the Ethiopian regime. In 2000, the OLF and ONLF joined with four other groups to form the United Liberation Front of Oromiya, which is thought to have existed in name only, as attacks continued to be unilaterally claimed by the ONLF.<br /><p><br />It is suspected that the ONLF has bases in Somalia, and the Ethiopian government accuses neighboring Eritrea of providing the ONLF with equipment and training. Ties between the ONLF and al-Qaeda have never been substantiated, though it is suspected that the Ethiopian government spread rumors to that effect to attract international assistance and attention.<br /><p><br />Although the ONLF claims that its military actions are only undertaken by a separate military wing, the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA), there is no proof that a formal separation exists between the two entities. Most attacks attributed to Ogaden insurgents are not claimed by the ONLA but rather by the ONLF through its propaganda mouthpiece, Radio Free Somaliweyn (Greater Somalia). <br />