The New York Times: Hundreds of Amharas were killed when three villages were assaulted by an armed OLF rebel group.
Posted: 03 Nov 2020, 12:14
The OLF assailants late on Sunday killed at least 54 people from the ethnic Amhara group in the Oromia region, Amnesty International said.
The attackers, who authorities said were from the Oromo Liberation Army, a group that broke off from a once-banned political party, attacked three villages in the West Welega Zone. They killed the victims after luring them to a school compound, then plundered what they could from the three villages and set everything else on fire.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, an independent national rights group, said in a statement posted on Twitter that there were up to 60 assailants. The commission said the attack came a day after federal forces had pulled out from the area even though it was susceptible to attacks.
have dogged Mr. Abiy’s administration the past two years. Since he came to power in 2018, he has introduced a number of reforms, including freeing political prisoners, legalizing previously banned opposition groups, and making peace with neighboring Eritrea, a longtime foe.
authorities have in the past accused OLF of undertaking actions with the aim of inciting ethnic tension and toppling the government. This included their alleged involvement in the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent Oromo singer who was gunned down in the capital of Addis Ababa in late June.
Mr. Hundessa’s death incited widespread unrest and violence, with hundreds killed, thousands arrested and the government clamping down on media outlets and journalists. In the Oromia region, members of religious and ethnic minorities like the Amhara were reportedly attacked, resulting in deaths, displacement and widespread property destruction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/02/worl ... sacre.html
The attackers, who authorities said were from the Oromo Liberation Army, a group that broke off from a once-banned political party, attacked three villages in the West Welega Zone. They killed the victims after luring them to a school compound, then plundered what they could from the three villages and set everything else on fire.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, an independent national rights group, said in a statement posted on Twitter that there were up to 60 assailants. The commission said the attack came a day after federal forces had pulled out from the area even though it was susceptible to attacks.
have dogged Mr. Abiy’s administration the past two years. Since he came to power in 2018, he has introduced a number of reforms, including freeing political prisoners, legalizing previously banned opposition groups, and making peace with neighboring Eritrea, a longtime foe.
authorities have in the past accused OLF of undertaking actions with the aim of inciting ethnic tension and toppling the government. This included their alleged involvement in the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent Oromo singer who was gunned down in the capital of Addis Ababa in late June.
Mr. Hundessa’s death incited widespread unrest and violence, with hundreds killed, thousands arrested and the government clamping down on media outlets and journalists. In the Oromia region, members of religious and ethnic minorities like the Amhara were reportedly attacked, resulting in deaths, displacement and widespread property destruction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/02/worl ... sacre.html
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