54 people killed in western Ethiopia "Brutal" attack

 

An armed group active in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region has killed at least 54 civilians in a weekend “massacre”, the national rights body said, adding that the true toll could be higher.

The violence occurred Sunday in an area of western Ethiopia known as Wollega and involved up to 60 “armed and unarmed assailants”, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement.

It said the assailants targeted members of the Amhara ethnic group, Ethiopia’s second largest, and that victims “were dragged from their homes and taken to a school, where they were killed”.

“Official figures state a death toll of 32 civilians, but preliminary evidence obtained by EHRC indicate the number is very likely to exceed that tally,” it said in a statement.Armed men in western Ethiopia have rounded up and executed dozens of men, women and children, in a “brutal” attack officials blamed on an armed group that is active in the region.

According to Amnesty International, Sunday’s attack on Gawa Qanqa village in Guliso District of West Wellega Zone took place a day after government forces unexpectedly left the area.

The exact death toll was not yet known. Amnesty, citing survivors, said on Monday at least 54 members of the Amhara ethnic group – Ethiopia’s second-largest – were killed. Earlier, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement the official death toll stood at 32 people but the actual number could be much higher.

The commission said the victims “were dragged from their homes and taken to a school, where they were killed”, in a “massacre” that involved up to 60 “armed and unarmed assailants”.

There has been no claim of responsibility, but the Oromia regional government said the attackers belonged to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed group blamed for kidnappings and bomb attacks in western and southern Ethiopia.

Property looted, houses burned

Survivors of the attack who spoke to the Amhara region’s affiliated broadcaster, Amhara Mass Media Agency, said ethnic Amharas were targeted.“The armed group gathered 200 people for a meeting around 5pm, and then started shooting at them. Several people were killed as a result,” the broadcaster quoted one survivor as saying. The survivor said a school and some 120 houses were burned.

A survivor who spoke by phone to AFP news agency also said the violence erupted after soldiers stationed in the area abruptly and inexplicably left, allowing OLA fighters to round up civilians.

“After collecting us, they opened fire on us, and then afterwards looted cattle and burned down houses,” said the survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“I have counted more than 50 corpses, and I know there were others hit by bullets,” the survivor said.

The OLA, believed to number in the low thousands, broke off from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.

Since December 2018, the Ethiopian army has been deployed in western and southern Oromia to combat the OLA’s armed campaign.

Elias Umeta, the region’s administrator, confirmed that 32 people were killed in the attack, which he said saw the assailants burn 21 houses.

“We buried today 32 of them. About 700 to 750 people were also displaced from the area. The killing was committed by an armed group called OLF Shane,” Umeta was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

The National Movement of Amhara (NAMA), an opposition party, denounced the government over its failure to protect civilians.

“The government has failed in its duty to protect the safety of citizens,” Dessalegn Chanie, a senior member of NAMA, told The Associated Press, adding that Ethiopia’s language-based federal system is the main cause for the killings.

“Ethnic Amharas residing outside of the Amhara region are being labeled as outsiders and are exposed to repeated attacks.”

‘More than 50 corpses’

A survivor who spoke by phone to AFP news agency said the violence erupted after soldiers stationed in the area abruptly and inexplicably left, allowing OLA fighters to round up civilians.

“After collecting us, they opened fire on us, and then afterwards looted cattle and burned down houses,” said the survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“I have counted more than 50 corpses, and I know there were others hit by bullets,” the survivor saidThe OLA, believed to number in the low thousands, broke off from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.

Since December 2018, the Ethiopian army has been deployed in western and southern Oromia to combat the OLA’s armed campaign.

Survivors of the attack who spoke to the Amhara region’s affiliated broadcaster, Amhara Mass Media Agency, said ethnic Amharas were targeted.

“The armed group gathered 200 people for a meeting around 5 pm, and then started shooting at them. Several people were killed as a result,” the broadcaster quoted one survivor as saying. The survivor said a school and some 120 houses were burned.

Abiy on Monday condemned the “heartbreaking” attack, saying he had deployed security forces to the area.“Ethiopia’s enemies are vowing either to rule the country or ruin it, and they are doing everything they can to achieve this. One of their tactics is to arm civilians and carry out barbaric attacks based on identity,” Abiy said in a statement.

The incident is likely to further ramp up pressure on Abiy, winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, to improve security in a country struggling with rising ethnic violence.