This report marks the first in OLLAA’s new Exclusive Report series documenting the ongoing pattern of human rights abuses perpetrated against Oromo civilians, both inside Ethiopia and throughout the world. It will also document the humanitarian situation inside Oromia, including on the effect of the drought and conflict on civilians throughout Oromia. These reports will be released on a monthly basis and will seek to give readers insight into the overarching pattern of abuses experienced by Oromo civilians.
Attacks Against Oromo Civilians
Security forces burning civilians alive in Metekel Zone in March 2022. Photo Source: Addis Standard
In early December, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued a press release about the situation inside Oromia, which concluded that over the past year, there have been multiple attacks against civilians perpetrated by members of the Ethiopian government, “Amhara militants”, and the OLA amounting to grave violations of human rights. According to this report, countless civilians have died as a result of clashes between government security forces and armed groups, and State agents have committed extrajudicial killings, airstrikes, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and other abuses. The report also found that armed groups had also carried out “kidnappings, killings, robberies, other violations, [&] extortions.”
These trends continued throughout the month of December as OLLAA received multiple reports of attacks against Oromo civilians committed by both state agents and non-state armed actors. Much of the violence attributed to the Ethiopian government was in connection to the ongoing military operation against the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) inside Oromia. Regarding non-state armed actors, the Amhara militia group known as fano reportedly launched several attacks against Oromo civilians in western and central Oromia. These attacks have ranged from physical attacks to the destruction of property and have led to the mass displacement of thousands of civilians.
1. Attacks against civilians committed by Ethiopian security forces
As previously reported by OLLAA, there have been dozens of drone strikes throughout the Oromia region over the past few months, leading to the death of civilians. When asked about the drone strikes by a reporter, one analyst recently posited that the Ethiopian government is, “apparently convinced that hitting the civilian population, perceived to be supporting and hosting the OLA, is the best approach,” to combat the OLA. Although much of the fighting between the OLA and Ethiopian security forces was reported in western and central Oromia in the last few months, towards the end of December, it was reported that fighting was escalating throughout central and eastern Oromia, likely leading to further attacks against civilians.
There were also reports of Ethiopian government security forces extrajudicially killing Oromo civilians during the month of December. These included reports that members of government security forces had shot and killed several Oromo youths who had been detained. Graphic videos also began circulating online that appear to show members of the Ethiopia National Defense Forces (ENDF) perpetrating heinous crimes against civilians in the Liban Cuqqala district of East Shewa zone because of, “links with armed groups.” These include a video showing an Oromo civilian being beheaded in the West Gujii zone because members of the ENDF suspected he was passing information to the OLA, and another video showing multiple Oromo civilians being burned alive in the West Shewa zone. [Due to their graphic content, links to these videos are not included in this report. OLLAA has copies of the videos on record.]
2. Attacks against civilians committed by Amhara militias
An Amhara Fano militia fighter in 2021. Photograph: The Guardian/Solan Kolli/AFP/Getty Images
Attacks against Oromo civilians by fano were also reported throughout the month of December. In early December, news broke of a series of attacks perpetrated by fano on residents of the Kiremu district, East Wollega zone on November 25th and 29th. Following these attacks, the Gida Ayana district government’s communications office issued a statement claiming that the entire population of 19 villages in Kiremu had been displaced due to the violence. On December 5th, it was reported that Amhara militias had killed two civilians and burned down several homes in the Boset woreda, East Shewa zone. Finally, a gruesome video has recently been circulating on social media which appears to show members of fano speaking in front of the decapitated heads of individuals they claim were Oromo. [OLLAA has a copy of the video on record.]
3. Internal Displacement
Violence and attacks against civilians throughout Oromia have led to mass displacement. In their December 6 Situation report, UN OCHA noted that, while their latest displacement figures for Oromia needed to be verified, they believed there was a “drastic increase” in internally displaced persons (IDPs) following the latest hostilities in the Wollega zones. According to reports they had received from local authorities, there are currently over 106,000 IDPs in the West Wollega zone, and 116,000 IDPs in the Horo Guduru Wollega zone. Similarly, their December 16 Situation Report found that hundreds of thousands of individuals had been displaced from conflict-affected parts of western Oromia.
Arbitrary Arrests & Detentions
Detained Oromo artists, Shimales Ababu, Fayisa Hailu, and Bohara Hailu. Photo Source: OMN Global
Oromo civilians routinely face arbitrary arrests and detentions, which are arrests and detentions not in accordance with the procedures established by law. Often, such arrests are due to civilians’ purported–and tenuous–connections to the OLA. In other incidents, they are arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression by participating in peaceful protests, for their involvement with leading Oromo opposition political parties, or because they are suspected of otherwise being Oromo nationalists. This trend continued throughout the month of December, with notable examples including:
- On December 18th, 3 well-known Oromo artists–Shimales Ababu, Fayisa Hailu, and Bohara Hailu–were arrested. Reports claimed that they were not given a reason for their arrest, nor had they been brought before a court of law.
- On December 22nd, Gobana Hola, the Abba Geda of the Tulama Oromo, claimed that security forces performed an illegal search of his home and arrested one of his sons, because they believed another one of his children was a member of the OLA.
- Ethiopia’s tallest man, Negewo Jima, was detained for two weeks without charges. When asked about his detention on December 23rd by BBC Afaan Oromoo, he reported he had been arrested based on suspicion that he posted “something that would divide the nation,” on social media. According to Nagawo, he made a post regarding the recent violence in Oromia, and attacks by Fano on Oromo civilians. He also claims he was never brought before a court of law while he was detained.
- On December 30th, Tashitaa Tufaa, a prominent Minnesota-based Oromo entrepreneur, was detained by Ethiopian security forces at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa when he attempted to return to the United States after traveling to Ethiopia to attend a funeral. According to sources on the ground, he was released from custody later that weekend.
- OLLAA also received reports from sources on the ground that peaceful protesters had been arrested by Ethiopian security forces during protests held to call for an end to violence throughout Oromia.
Calls for Peace from Oromia
Following the rise in violence throughout western and central Oromia, it was reported that large-scale protests broke out at universities and schools throughout the region. Protesters called for an end to the violence and denounced the killings of Oromo civilians by both Ethiopian government forces and Amhara militias. During these protests, OLLAA received reports from sources on the ground of Ethiopian security forces responding to protesters with brutality, including reports of beatings, arrests, and disappearances.
Elsewhere in Oromia, a group of 80 Members of Parliament from the Oromia region sent a letter to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed regarding the dire security situation throughout the region. In it, they urged his office to enter into a peace agreement with the OLA, like the one they had recently entered into with the TPLF in northern Ethiopia. Despite these calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict engulfing Oromia, the Oromia regional government has seemingly rejected the idea of entering into negotiations with the OLA, with Awolu Abdi, the Deputy President of the region, recently discussing the need for an “organized law enforcement measure” against the OLA in order to bring lasting peace to western Oromia.
Humanitarian Situation in Oromia
The Borana zone in Oromia, which is experiencing severe drought conditions. Photo source: Addis Standard
The Oromia region of Ethiopia is currently experiencing a perilous humanitarian situation and increasing food insecurity due to a number of factors, including drought and conflict. UNFPA has recently reported that 3.4 million people inside the Oromia region have been affected by the drought, with 1.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Reporting by USAID shows even more dire figures–finding that 5 million people inside Oromia are in need of emergency food assistance. A recent report by UN OCHA found that 1.96% of children screened in Oromia were severely malnourished, while 18% were moderately malnourished. Several parts of Oromia are also experiencing a cholera outbreak. The most recent reports from UN OCHA have found that, so far, 669 cases of cholera have been reported in the Bale and Guji zones of Oromia.
In December, the International Rescue Committee published its 2023 Emergency Watchlist report, which highlights 20 countries they view as being the most “at risk” of experiencing a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the coming year. This report places Ethiopia as one of the top 3 countries of concern, noting both the impact of conflict–in northern Ethiopia and inside Oromia–and drought on civilian populations.
Oromo Migrants and Refugees
Outside of Ethiopia, there continue to be reports of the mistreatment and abuse of Ethiopian migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, many of whom are Oromo.
As previously reported by OLLAA, since 2013, the Saudi Arabian government has been conducting a campaign of “violent crackdowns” against migrant workers, including periodic mass arrests and deportations of migrant Ethiopians. The most recent sweep occurred in June 2021. As of January 2022, it was estimated that 100,000 Ethiopian migrants were detained in Saudi Arabia, where they faced inhuman conditions, despite the Ethiopian and Saudi Arabian governments reaching a bilateral agreement to repatriate 40,000 detained nationals in July 2021. In December 2022, Amnesty International issued a report on the treatment of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi detention centers, finding that they were held in “indefinite detention in inhuman and cruel conditions, subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment, and then forcibly returned them to their home country.”
As previously reported by OLLAA, every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from Ethiopia arrive in Yemen, many of whom ultimately hope to reach Saudi Arabia. There are longstanding reports of these migrants and refugees facing human rights abuses at the hands of various parties. In December 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on a series of communications sent from UN experts to the Saudi government and Yemeni authorities regarding allegations of human rights abuses against Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers. According to the report, neither government responded to these communications, leading HRW to call for the UN to establish a “monitoring and investigative mechanism,” into these allegations.
International Response
1. United States
On December 2, 2022, Ned Price, the Department Spokesperson for the US Department of State gave a press briefing wherein he praised the recent peace agreement between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government, which he called “the best chance for peace in northern Ethiopia.” While his remarks largely focused on the situation in northern Ethiopia, he also issued a call for peace in the south, noting that, “we are mindful of the reports of significant violence in Oromia, and we call on all armed actors to engage in political dialogue to end the fighting while exercising restraint and respecting the lives, the rights, and property of all those in Oromia.”
Between December 13-15th, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the United States during the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. The decision to invite the Ethiopian government to participate in the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit drew criticism from numerous parties, including OLLAA and the US Oromo diaspora community. Of particular concern was the fact that one of the major focuses of the Summit is to reinforce countries’ commitment to the protection of democracy, human rights, and civil society. In response, members of the US Oromo diaspora community held a rally to protest the recent escalation in violent attacks against Oromo civilians and called on the US government to pressure the Ethiopian government to protect civilians, respect human rights, and seek peaceful means to end the conflict in Oromia, as it has done with the TPLF in northern Ethiopia.
In the days prior to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ summit, OLLAA issued a call to various leaders of the US government, including members of Congress, State Department officials, and senior White House staff, urging them to not meet with Prime Minister Abiy during this event, and instead stand in solidarity with the Oromos. Although we were saddened to see that some members of Congress did still meet with the Prime Minister, we positively note the fact that Senator Chris Van Hollen’s office issued a statement following his meeting, noting that “as deadly attacks are on the rise in Oromia, there must be a political process to resolve the conflict in Oromia as well.”
2. United Nations
In December 2021, the UN Human Rights Council voted to adopt a resolution on Ethiopia during a special session that called for the formation of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), a body tasked with investigating allegations of human rights abuses in Ethiopia since November 2020. In September 2022, the ICHREE released its first report, which focused on events that occurred inside northern Ethiopia but noted the need to investigate allegations of human rights abuses inside Oromia in their future reports. The ICHREE’s mandate was renewed for another year in October 2022.
Voting Results at UN General Assembly. Screenshot Source: UN WebTV
On December 16, 2022, the Ethiopian government introduced a draft resolution before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) which would have called on the UNGA’s 5th Committee to defund the ICHREE. Ultimately, on December 20, 2022, members of the UNGA voted against this resolution by a vote of 15Y-80N-57A, meaning that the ICHREE will be granted the necessary resources to fulfill its mandate in the coming year.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The Oromo have faced systematic human rights abuses at the hands of multiple Ethiopian governments. Despite the repressive tactics they have faced for generations, they have, time and again, sacrificed their lives to advance human rights in Ethiopia, including by leading the peaceful protests that led to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s rise to power in 2018.
Unfortunately, over the last two years, the situation for the Oromo has only worsened, particularly following times of relative peace in northern Ethiopia. Since the signing of the peace agreement between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government in November 2022, there have been increasing reports of attacks against civilians, both by Ethiopian security forces and Amhara militias. As documented above, these trends continued in December 2022.
Despite the growing body of evidence of a systematic pattern of human rights abuses being perpetrated against the Oromo, the plight of the Oromo continues to be ignored by the international community. OLLAA fears that the continued failure of the international community to pressure the Ethiopian government to protect human rights and seek a peaceful means to end the conflict inside Oromia will only lead to further loss of life and the destabilization of the entire Horn of Africa.
As such, OLLAA calls on the international community to:
- Condemn the human rights violations noted in this report, as well as all other credible allegations of human rights violations throughout the country;
- Consider launching independent investigations into reports of human rights violations committed inside Oromia and across the country, and support the work of the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia;
- Pressure the Ethiopian government to find peaceful means to end the conflict in Oromia, as it has done with TPLF in northern Ethiopia;
- Ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all who need it across Ethiopia, including inside Oromia;
- Ensure the Oromo are included in any transitional justice measures, including inclusive dialogue processes.