OLLAA has spoken with a family member of Ahmed Muhammed regarding his death at the hands of Oromia Regional State local militia. Ahmed, according to our source, was born and raised in Kufa village, Gurawa district, East Hararghe zone of Oromia Regional State. He was a husband and the father of a son and a daughter. He spent a lot of time working on his farm to support his family, and up to the moment of his unfortunate death, he never got into a fight with anyone.
Our informant states that on August 5, 2023, around 5:00 pm, two militia members from the area knocked on his door as they raided his home for an unknown reason. They replied when Ahmed’s wife inquired about their identity, saying, “We are militia members from Qufa Village and we wanted Ahmed.” They asked for Ahmed but she refused to open the door as it was midnight. The militias broke down the door and forcefully entered the house without a search warrant or permission from the family, and took Ahmed.
His wife spent three days looking for him but he was nowhere to be found. On 8/8/2023 at 9:00 AM, she found his corpse on their farmland. He had been shot on his chest. This is an extremely tragic event for his entire family.
Ahmed was the sole provider for his family and parents. As a result, the entire family was devastated when they heard about Ahmad’s death. It is difficult for them as they all depended on him.
In their village, regular police officers, militias, and security forces are currently terrifying and harassing residents at night by warning that anyone who supports the OLF is going to experience what happened to Ahmed, according to OLLAA’s source.
International Law
The right to life is recognized under numerous international human rights instruments like UDHR, ICCPR, and ACHPR to which Ethiopia is a state party. These instruments also contain the obligation for states to protect individuals from human rights violations, including violations of the right to life.
Therefore, the killing of Ahmed by these local militias is a clear violation of human rights. Accordingly, the government must be held accountable for failing to defend its citizens against state armed groups—particularly their right to life.