Article author:
Reuters
ADDIS ABABA — An unknown number of villagers are killed in a folk-motivated slaughter in western Ethiopia as federal forces seek to stabilize the region after a mass murder in mid-June. The state rights group said it was done.
The Oromiya region, where Amhara is a minority, has experienced ripples of violence for many years, rooted in dissatisfaction with political estrangement and negligence by the central government.
The killings took place on Monday in two villages in Kerem Wallega, about 400 km (250 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa, said the State-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It blamed the killing of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a banned debris group of the opposition. The OLA denied the charges and accused the militia group.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the claims of either side.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed blamed OLA for the attack. This is what he called the "slaughter."
OLA spokesman Odaa Tarbii rejected charges, saying that government alliance militia were responsible for the slaughter, but federal troops recently deployed in the area could not stop it. did.
"The prime minister's accusations are an attempt by the administration to deviate from the fact that the administration is struggling to maintain its order," Oder told Reuters.
Ethiopian government spokesman Leges True said the OLA was trying to shift responsibility to the government, calling it a tactic "used by terrorist groups to hide evil deeds."
He did not provide details of the casualties.
Oromiya's local government spokesman did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Last month, about 340 people were killed in the same area, a Biy spokesman said in criticism by the government and the OLA.
The EHRC called for immediate stabilization of the region.
"Continuous anxiety in the area and the killing of ethnically targeted populations must be stopped immediately," EHRC director Daniel Bekele said in a late Monday statement. .. (Report by Addis Ababa, Written by Hereward Holland, Edited by Duncan Miriri and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
