Ethiopia accuses armed group of killing civilians

By AFP
December 03, 2023

NAIROBI: An armed group has killed “many civilians” in Ethiopia’s most populous region, local authorities said Saturday, just 11 days after talks between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army ended without agreement.

Classified as a “terrorist organisation” by Addis Ababa, the OLA has been fighting the government since 2018 after splitting from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) when it renounced armed struggle.

Ethiopian federal soldiers have been accused of looting and indiscriminately killing civilians in Amhara as they pursue their former allies, the Fano militia. —AFP File
Ethiopian federal soldiers have been accused of looting and indiscriminately killing civilians in Amhara as they pursue their former allies, the Fano militia. —AFP File

“The terror group... has been taking horrendous and brutal measures on peaceful citizens, with it brutally killing many citizens... in the Arsi zone” south of the capital, Hailu Adugna, the Oromia regional government’s communications chief, said in a statement without giving further details on the toll or timing.

The government is willing to resume peace talks “if the terror group refrains from its terror acts and returns to peaceful discussion,” Adugna said. Talks in Tanzania to put an end to five years of insurrection ended November 21 without resolution, with each side blaming the other for the breakdown.