Benishangul People's Liberation Movement or BPLM is an armed rebel group based in the

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Benishangul-Gumuz ( am, ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ, Benšangul Gumuz) is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia to the border of Sudan. It was previously known as Region 6. The region's capital is Assosa. Following the adoption of the 1 ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. BPLM signed peace deals with the federal Ethiopian government in 2005, 2013 and 2022.

Creation

According to '' Tigrai Online'', Benishangul People's Liberation Movement was created in 1996 as an armed rebel movement. An Ethiopian prosecutor claimed that BPLM was created by Abdulwahab Mehadi in 2007.

Aims

BPLM claimed in 2018 that the

Berta people The Berta (Bertha) or Funj are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors ( Gumuz, Uduk). Their total Ethiopian population is abou ...

and the

Gumuz people The Gumuz (also spelled Gumaz and Gumz) are an ethnic group speaking a Nilo-Saharan language inhabiting the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and the Qwara woreda in western Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region in Sudan. They speak the Gumuz language, ...

were "oppressed by all three of Ethiopia's most powerful communities" and that the

Oromo Liberation Front The Oromo Liberation Front ( om, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and ...

had attacked local inhabitants in

Kamashi Zone Kamashi is a zone in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. It covers part of the southern bank of the Abay and the valley of the Didessa Rivers. The Zone is bordered on the south and east by the Oromia Region, on the west by the Asosa and ...

Leadership

According to an Ethiopian prosecutor, Abdulwahab Mehadi headed BPLM from 2007 to 2015. Husien Ahmed was one BPLM's leaders in 2013.

Peace processes

BPLM signed a peace deal with the federal Ethiopian government in 2005. Fighting resumed in 2006. In June 2013, BPLM and the federal government agreed to a peace deal in 2013. BPLM members were promised an amnesty from prosecution and governmental support under the deal. BPLM detainees were released. Fighting resumed in 2019. In October 2022, the BPLM signed another peace agreement with the government and agreed to conduct dialogue with the regional government.

Eritrean support

BPLM received support, including military training, in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, according to an Ethiopian prosecutor and Husien Ahmed, one of BPLM's leaders.

Military actions

In 2015, ten BPLM members were charged with armed attacks against the

Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...

(ENDF) in a 30-minute gun battle at Bulfadto in

Asosa Asosa is the capital of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia. Located in the Asosa Zone, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 1,570 meters. History A Belgian force from the Congo captured Asosa on 11 March 1941, dest ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , title= The Benishangul People's Liberation Movement (BPLM) quits armed struggle and returns home , date= 2013-06-09 , newspaper= Tigrai Online , url= https://www.tigraionline.com/articles/bplm-quits-armed-struggle.html , access-date= 2021-11-05 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211105005519/https://www.tigraionline.com/articles/bplm-quits-armed-struggle.html , archive-date= 2021-11-05 , url-status=live {{cite news , title= Ethiopian rebel group ends arms struggle, returns home , date= 2013-06-09 , newspaper=

Sudan Tribune The ''Sudan Tribune'' is an electronic news portal on Sudan and South Sudan and neighbouring countries including news coverage, analyses and commentary, official reports and press releases from various organizations, and maps. It is based in P ...

, url= https://sudantribune.com/article45983 , access-date= 2021-11-05 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211105010636/https://sudantribune.com/article45983 , archive-date= 2021-11-05 , url-status=live {{cite news , title= Ethiopia charges ten for attacks against members of Defense Forces , date= 2015-01-23 , newspaper=

Addis Standard ''Addis Standard'' is an Ethiopian monthly social, economic and politics, political news magazine publishing, published and distributed by Jakenn Publishing Plc, and was established in February 2011 by Tsedale Lemma. The magazine has an independ ...

, url= https://eng.addisstandard.com/ethiopia-charges-ten-for-attacks-against-members-of-defense-forces , access-date= 2021-11-05 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211105005438/https://eng.addisstandard.com/ethiopia-charges-ten-for-attacks-against-members-of-defense-forces , archive-date= 2021-11-05 , url-status=live {{cite web , last1 = Gebreselassie , first1 = Elias , title= Rising allies may breach frontier despite EPRDF stalling on expansion , website=

Ethiopia Insight Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the no ...

, date = 2018-10-19 , url = https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2018/10/19/rising-allies-may-breach-frontier-despite-eprdf-stalling-on-expansion , access-date = 2021-11-05 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191108082523/https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2018/10/19/rising-allies-may-breach-frontier-despite-eprdf-stalling-on-expansion , archive-date= 2019-11-08 , url-status=live {{cite web , first1= Ermias , last1=Tasfaye , title= EIEP: Prosperity Party's win is a loss for Oromia—and Ethiopia , website=

, date = 2021-08-19 , url = https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2021/08/19/eiep-prosperity-partys-win-is-a-loss-for-oromia-and-ethiopia , access-date = 2021-11-05 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211105010259/https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2021/08/19/eiep-prosperity-partys-win-is-a-loss-for-oromia-and-ethiopia , archive-date= 2021-11-05 , url-status=live {{void, example citation code for copying/pasting: {{cite news , last1= , first1= , last2= , first2= , pages= , language = , title= , trans-title = , date= , publisher= , newspaper= , url= , access-date= 2021... , archive-url= , archive-date= 2021... , url-status=live {{cite web , last1 = , first1 = , last2= , first2= , authorlink = , language = , title= , trans-title = , work = , publisher = , website= , date = , url = , format = , doi = , access-date = 2021... , archive-url= , archive-date= 2021... , url-status=live Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present) Rebel groups in Ethiopia