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At least 200 civilians are believed to have been killed in Ethiopia’s Oromia region

CNN — At least 200 civilians were killed by the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) insurgents in Ethiopia’s Oromia region on Saturday, according to reports, rights groups and local officials. A police officer said that most of the victims were of Amhara ethnicity.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission announced in a statement that the attack in Gimbi town was related to the war between government militants and OLA. the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission told CNN on Monday that the attack “injured many people, destroyed villages and traumatized entire communities.”

The OLA – which last year partnered with Tigray rebel forces against Ethiopia’s federal government in the country’s long conflict – has denied all charges. OLA spokesperson Odaa Tarbii said on Sunday that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is blaming the “regime” for the atrocities committed by the fighters by withdrawing OLA again.

The rebel group is classified as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government and is frequently accused of attacking civilians and targeting Amhara people.

In the year In 2020, after the war broke out in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia, when the Abiy government and its allies tried to suppress the rebellion started by the People’s Liberation Army of Tigray (HPW), this incident is one of the worst atrocities that happened in the country.

In the year Before Abiy came to power in 2018, the TPLF controlled the Ethiopian government.

The ensuing civil war has seen both sides commit atrocities that human rights groups say have threatened to divide the ethnic nation. There is no suggestion that the TPLF was involved in Saturday’s attack.

A local police officer involved in the response to Saturday’s incident told CNN that the victims of the attack near Tole village in Gimbi on Saturday were from the Amhara ethnic group. The police officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

He said the attack took place days after heavy fighting between government security forces and OLA in the area.

Survivors and escapees told the police officer that the attack started when the OLA members tried to cross the village but were blocked by local residents and some armed civilians.

A resident of Tole town, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said he saw OLA militiamen walking the main road on Saturday morning before dispersing to neighboring villages. He added that government forces that had been seen in Tole earlier in the week had left the area days before the attack.

The police officer said responders were dispatched to the site on Sunday to retrieve the body and bury it.

Currently, the federal forces have secured the area, but the residents are still asking for immediate assistance due to the security problem in the area.

The Oromia regional government has accused the OLA of attacking civilians because it was “unable to withstand the attacks from the security forces” and stated that it will continue to attack the group.

Prime Minister Abiy tweeted on Monday: “Attack on innocent citizens and destruction of lives by illegal and unlawful forces is unacceptable.”

In a statement issued by the commission on Sunday, the head of Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Mr. Daniel Bekele, urged the authorities to “ensure necessary measures for the protection of civilians and seek a permanent solution to the problem.”

Ethiopia is an ethnically and religiously diverse country with about 110 million speakers of different languages. The two largest ethnic groups, Oromo and Amhara, account for more than 60% of the population. The Tigrians are in the third place, around 7%.

Last week, Abiy said that the Ethiopian government has set up a committee to negotiate with forces from the Tigray region. The development is a major step towards peace talks between the two sides.

CNN

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