ADDIS ABABA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Ethiopian rebel group military leaders on Monday returned home after years of military preparations in exile following discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The two rebel group leaders, Yonatan Dubissa and Abebe Geresu, who had been operating in Ethiopia's neighboring country Eritrea after joining the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), returned home on Monday after fruitful discussions with Ahmed, state news agency ENA reported.
Dubissa and Geresu, who were active members within the Ethiopian government structure before joining the rebel group, started discussions with the new Ethiopian prime minister after witnessing positive transformations in the East African country's political landscape, it was noted.
Dubissa was among the founding members as well as former central committee member of the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO) -- one of the four coalition members of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Geresu, who served in the rank of colonel in the Ethiopian military, also left the military in 2006 accompanied with more than 100 other solders of the Ethiopian army force to join OLF, which the Ethiopian government dubbed as a terrorist group.
The two individuals returned home from Egypt with Ahmed, who returned home on Monday after a two-day official visit to Egypt over the weekend.
Some 32 Ethiopians who were jailed in Egyptian prisons have also returned home with the prime minister in addition to the two infamous rebel group leaders.
According to Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Ethiopian prisoners were released upon the request of the Ethiopian prime minister to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Ahmed had also last week called on Ethiopia's archrival Eritrea towards settling the longstanding boarder confrontation in a peaceful manner.
Estimates suggested that thousands of Ethiopian opposition forces are presently stationed in Eritrea, while the Red Sea nation also accused Ethiopia for supporting Eritrean rebel groups.
