TN Commentaries
4 November at 16:10
ETHIOPIA —
Anger is rising among ethnic Somalis after PM Abiy Ahmed falsely claimed in a recent parliamentary speech that “ድሬድዋ የኦሮምያ ነበረች” (Dire Dawa was once part of Oromia). They are now demanding that he retract the statement and issue a formal apology as such claim has a potential to incite ethnic violence.
Today, Dire Dawa police stormed the home of a young Somali man after he dared to speak publicly in Amharic, rejecting the fabricated claim made by PM Abiy Ahmed.
But the arrest didn’t go as planned. Within minutes, angry residents flooded the streets, standing shoulder to shoulder to protect him. What began as a quiet raid exploded into a charged standoff, with the community refusing to back down.
Observers warn that, given the current developments on the ground, the Oromo-Somali territorial conflict seems imminent, and PM Abiy Ahmed’s unjustified remark endorsing Oromo expansion into Somali lands appears to be the final straw that could ignite the crisis.
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