Witnesses in Ethiopia mentioned Sunday that greater than 200 ethnic Amhara have been killed in an assault within the nation’s Oromia area and are blaming a insurgent group, which denies it.
It is likely one of the deadliest such assaults in current reminiscence as ethnic tensions proceed in Africa’s second most populous nation.
“I have counted 230 bodies. I am afraid this is the deadliest attack against civilians we have seen in our lifetime,” Abdul-Seid Tahir, a resident of Gimbi county, instructed The Associated Press after barely escaping the assault on Saturday.
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“We are burying them in mass graves, and we are still collecting bodies. Federal army units have now arrived, but we fear that the attacks could continue if they leave.” Another witness, who gave solely his first identify, Shambel over fears for his security, mentioned the native Amhara group is now desperately in search of to be relocated some place else “before another round of mass killings happen.” He mentioned ethnic Amhara that settled within the space about 30 years in the past in resettlement applications are actually being “killed like chickens.” Both witnesses blamed the Oromo Liberation Army for the assaults. In a press release, the Oromia regional authorities additionally blamed the OLA, saying the rebels attacked “after being unable to resist the operations launched by (federal) security forces.” An OLA spokesman, Odaa Tarbii, denied the allegations.
“The attack you are referring to was committed by the regime’s military and local militia as they retreated from their camp in Gimbi following our recent offensive,” he mentioned in a message to the AP.
“They escaped to an area called Tole, where they attacked the local population and destroyed their property as retaliation for their perceived support for the OLA. Our fighters had not even reached that area when the attacks took place.” Ethiopia is experiencing widespread ethnic tensions in a number of areas, most of them over historic grievances and political tensions. The Amhara folks, the second-largest ethnic group amongst Ethiopia’s greater than 110 million inhabitants, have been focused often in areas like Oromia.
The government-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Sunday referred to as on the federal authorities discover a “lasting solution” to the killing of civilians and defend them from such assaults.
