Cairo – Dozens of people were killed in Ethiopia over the weekend when three villages were attacked by an armed rebel group, the government and human rights groups said on Monday, following a rumor of attacks threatening Africa’s second-largest stability. A populous nation.
The attackers killed at least 54 members of the ethnic Amhara group in the Oromia region late Sunday night, Amnesty International said.
The attackers, who authorities say were Oromo Liberation Army, a group that once broke away from a banned political party, attacked three villages in the western Velega zone. They lured them into the school compound, killed them, then looted what they could from three villages and set everything else on fire.
The independent national rights group, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, said in a statement posted on Twitter that there were Up to 60 attackers. The commission put the death toll at 327 but said the final death toll was likely to be higher, adding that the attack came a day after federal forces withdrew from the area despite the attack being sensitive.
Sunday’s attack highlighted how relations between Ethiopia’s ethnic groups have been strained, as Prime Minister Abiya Ahmed sought to unite the country’s ethnic federal states.
As the country has opened up in recent years, racial grievances have intensified around resources, land, internal borders and political power. This is especially true in Oromo and Amhara, which together account for more than 108 million people, more than 100 million of the country’s population.
Mr Abi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, on Monday condemned the attacks, saying “Ethiopia’s enemies” would either “rule the country or destroy it”.
He said in a statement posted on Facebook that the strategy they are using is to equip civilians and carry out barbaric attacks on the basis of identity. “It’s heartbreaking to see this happen as a citizen and a leader.”
Summer racial tensions and violence have pushed Mr. Abi’s administration for the past two years. Since coming to power in 2018, he has introduced a number of reforms, including the release of political prisoners, the legalization of previously banned opposition groups, and reconciliation with longtime enemy Eritrea.
But the reforms and the new openness of the country have also given rise to many problems, parties and personalities who have directly challenged the rule of Mr. Abiathar.
This includes the Oromo Liberation Army, an armed division of the political party Oromo Liberation Front, which Mr. Abi welcomed back from exile.
The group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
But the authorities have in the past accused him of inciting ethnic tensions and taking action with the intention of overthrowing the government. This includes his alleged involvement in the assassination of Ochmo singer Hachlu Hondasa, who was assassinated in Addis Ababa’s capital in late June.
Mr Hondasa’s death sparked widespread unrest and violence, with hundreds killed, thousands arrested and the government cracking down on the media and journalists. In the Oromia region, members of religious and ethnic minorities such as Amhar have been reported to have been attacked, resulting in death, displacement and destruction of extensive property.
The latest impact of the violence shows how political polarization in Ethiopia usually occurs with ethnic aspects, especially as the government’s decision to postpone this year’s general elections has come under strain.
Mr Abiya is battling a confluence of crises, including the Ronavirus epidemic, with devastating floods and displacement, as well as desert locust weapons scattering crops, and opposition to his rule on the ground. In September, parliamentary elections were held in Tigre, the easternmost part of Ethiopia, despite Mr Abi calling them “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
On Monday, rights groups urged the government to investigate why government troops accidentally left the area before the attack.
“It raises questions that need to be answered,” said Deproz Muchena, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and South Africa.
On Monday, Mr Abi said security forces have been deployed in the area.
“This won’t pull us back,” Mr. Abby said. “It simply came to our notice then. He will not lose hope. ”
Tiksa Negeri contributed to the report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
