According to Human Rights Watch, due to the relatively small size of the forces of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the other rebel fronts, there is very little available information concerning their recruitment practices (1991, 315). While the following information may not directly answer your request, it might be useful.

The Ethiopian government has alleged that the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forced children, some as young as nine years old, to participate in anti-government activities (Xinhua 29 Sept. 1990).

According to Africa South of the Sahara 1990, support for the OLF comes from Oromo peasants who oppose government efforts to turn their associations into cooperatives (1990, 455). Government arrests and harassment of Oromos in Addis Abeba have brought the OLF greater support and more recruits (Ibid.; Amnesty International 6 Jan. 1993). The OLF also increased its membership with Oromo deserters from the Ethiopian National Liberation Front (ENLF) (Human Rights Watch 1991, 70). According to a report of the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference On the Horn of Africa, the OLF leadership broadcast to Oromo soldiers exhorting them to defect to the OLF (Centre for the Study of the Horn of Africa 1988, 100). Oromos from the disbanded Mengistu army joined the OLF and other Oromo armed-organizations ( Africa Confidential 20 Mar. 1992; La Presse 22 Apr. 1992).

According to a report entitled Evaluation of the June 21, 1992 Elections in Ethiopia, the growth of "ethnicity-based armed groups" mushroomed after the fall of Mengistu (National Democratic Institute 1992, 15). The OLF benefited from this growth and increased the number of its fighters by "three-fold". These recruits came mostly from areas with large Oromo populations (Ibid.). While our sources consulted did not mention any forced recruitment by the armed groups, one source indicated that armed cadres of the OLF and the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia (IFLO) have forced people to demonstrate against government soldiers (BBC 2 Apr. 1992).

The Voice of Oromo Liberation in Oromifa also reported that the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) disarmed Oromos who were fighting on the government side against the OLF (BBC 25 Sept. 1990). While this source did not state directly that the disarmed Oromos were recruited into the OLF, it mentioned that the OLA was "turning the guns against the anti-Oromo government" (Ibid.). Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.

Africa Confidential [London]. 20 March 1992. Vol. 33, No. 6. "Ethiopia: Power-struggles and the Ethnic Weapon."

Africa South of the Sahara 1990. 1990. 19th ed. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

Amnesty International, Toronto. 6 January 1993. Letter.

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 April 1992. "Ethiopia EPRDF Accuses OLF of Inciting Peasants to Attack Its Forces." (NEXIS)

. 25 September 1990. "Ethiopia's Oromo Rebels's Military Claims." (NEXIS)

Centre for the Study of the Horn of Africa. 1989. Proceedings (3rd International Conference on the Horn of Africa. New York: University of New York.

Human Rights Watch. 1991. Evil DayThirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. New York: Human Rights Watch.

La Presse [Montréal]. 22 April 1992. "Le gouvernement éthiopien a du mal à maîtriser la situation intérieure."

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. 1992. An Evaluation of the June 21, 1992 Elections in Ethiopia. 1991. Washington: National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

The Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 29 September 1990. "Ethiopian Rebels Accused of Abducting Children." (NEXIS)

Africa Confidential [London]. 20 March 1992. Vol. 33, No. 6. "Ethiopia: Power-struggles and the Ethnic Weapon."

Africa South of the Sahara 1990. 1990. 19th ed. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

Amnesty International, Toronto. 6 January 1993. Letter. BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 April 1992. "Ethiopia EPRDF Accuses OLF of Inciting Peasants to Attack its Forces." (NEXIS)

. 25 September 1990. "Ethiopia's Oromo Rebels's Military Claims." (NEXIS)

Centre for the Study of the Horn of Africa. 1989. Proceedings (3rd International Conference on the Horn of Africa. New York: University of New York.

Horn Reports [Ottawa]. 26 May 1993. Vol. 2. No. 5. Rest Bulletin. "Opposition at Home and Abroad," pp.22-24.

[Ottawa]. 21 November 1992. Vol. 1. No. 1. Collin Legum. "Ethiopia: What About the Oromos?," pp.7-8.

Human Rights Watch. 1991. Evil DayThirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. New York: Human Rights Watch.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 1 February 1992. No. 512. "Ethiopia: No Simple Solution in Eastern Region," p.5.

La Presse [Montréal]. 22 April 1992. "Le gouvernement éthiopien a du mal à maîtriser la situation intérieure."

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. 1992. An Evaluation of the June 21, 1992 Elections in Ethiopia. Washington: National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

The Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 29 September 1990. "Ethiopian Rebels Accused of Abducting Children." (NEXIS)