In Ethiopia last month, more than 50 civilians lost their lives in a series of attacks, according to a statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
The incidents occurred shortly after talks between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group from the country’s most populous region, concluded without an agreement.
The independent, state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported that OLA fighters were responsible for killing 17 individuals and destroying villages in Benishangul-Gumuz, bordering the Oromia region.
Designated a “terrorist organization” by Addis Ababa, the OLA has conflicted with the government since 2018, following its split from the Oromo Liberation Front when the latter renounced armed struggle.
The Human Rights Commission’s report revealed that another 30 people were killed in the Arsi zone of Oromia in a series of attacks by unidentified assailants.
Tragically, victims included members of the same family, with the attackers reportedly lining up some victims outside their homes before carrying out the assaults.
The victims encompassed an infant, a pregnant woman, and an 80-year-old individual.
The report also mentioned that an unspecified number of injured individuals are currently receiving medical treatment.
Furthermore, the report highlighted an additional incident on November 25, where nine members of the Hamo-Tokuma diocese of the Lutheran church in the Qellem Wollega zone, Oromia region, were killed by unidentified attackers.
All these attacks occurred between November 23 and 29, shortly after talks in Tanzania aimed at ending a five-year insurrection concluded on November 21.
Both sides blamed each other for the breakdown of the negotiations.
On Saturday, local authorities in Oromia accused the OLA of carrying out “horrendous and brutal” attacks against civilians in the Arsi zone, without providing specific details about the timing of these assaults.
The OLA’s strength, estimated at a few thousand men in 2018, has grown in recent years, although experts suggest that it may not be sufficiently organized or well-armed to pose a significant threat to the government.
The Oromo ethnic group constitutes approximately one-third of Ethiopia’s 120 million inhabitants.
The government accuses the OLA of orchestrating massacres, a claim the rebels deny.
In turn, authorities are accused of conducting an indiscriminate crackdown, intensifying resentment among the Oromo population.
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