OLLAA CALLS ON PM ABIY TO INVESTIGATE WOLLO MASSACRES | PRESS RELEASE

Falls Church, Virginia (03/24/21)—This week, Ethiopian Members of Parliament Aminaat Indris and Mahamed Hassen called upon Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to stop the massacre of their Oromo constituents in Wollo state by Amhara special forces. 

Click here for PDF version of this press release >>

Amhara Liyu (regional forces) arrived in Wollo on March 24, claiming the military was resisting OLF-Shane militia fighters in the region. Despite these claims, the BBC reports that instead the soldiers are attacking innocent noncombatants—including farmers, families, and even a wedding party. The soldiers have murdered at least a dozen people since last Friday, including a local imam. 

MPs Indris and Hassen spoke eloquently of their constituents’ suffering, protesting the ongoing abuses against the Oromo people and slammed the government for launching an ethnic cleansing campaign in the Wollo and across Oromia. Amhara soldiers and other government security personnel across Ethiopia continue to target innocent Oromo civilians on account of their ethnicity and Muslim faith.

OLLAA unequivocally condemns the current atrocities in Wollo state and joins MPs Indris and Hassen in urging Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to investigate the ongoing military campaign by Amhara Liyu forces. 

Any military actions in Wollo state must operate according to international law, which forbids the targeting of civilians or noncombatants. PM Abiy must immediately dispatch an impartial investigation team to Wollo state. Additionally, OLLAA calls upon US’ investigators of ethnic cleansing in Tigray to expand their inquiry into Wollo and other conflict-affected regions of Ethiopia.