New Delhi: Witnesses in Ethiopia said on Sunday that more than 200 ethnic Amhara have been killed in an attack in the country’s Oromia region and are blaming a rebel group. Ethiopia is experiencing widespread ethnic tensions in several regions, most of them over historical grievances and political tensions. The Amhara people — the second-largest ethnic group among Ethiopia’s population of more than 110 million people — have been targeted frequently in regions such as Oromia.
The rebel group is denying responsibility.
It is one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory as ethnic tensions continue in Africa’s second-most populous country.
Abdul-Seid Tahir, a resident of Gimbi county, told the media after barely escaping the attack on Saturday that I have counted 230 bodies. I am afraid this is the deadliest attack against civilians we have seen in our lifetime.
“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,” the eye-witness added.
An ethnic Amhara who settled in the area about 30 years ago in resettlement programs is now being killed like chickens.
Over fears for his safety, the local Amhara community desperately seeks to be relocated somewhere else before another round of mass killings happens. Both witnesses blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the attacks.
In a statement, the Oromia regional government also blamed the OLA, saying the rebels had 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 said in a message to the media.
“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.”
(Vinayak)
