OLLAA CONDEMNS ATTACKS AGAINST CIVILIANS IN WOLLO ZONE AND REPORTS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND ARBITRARY DETENTIONS THROUGHOUT OROMIA

Falls Church, Virginia (12/27/2021) — OLLAA was shocked to hear firsthand reports from witnesses on the ground that, over the Christmas weekend, Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the Amhara police may have killed over 100 civilians in the Wollo Oromia Special zone, Amhara region, in an apparent act of revenge killing following the withdrawal of TDF and OLA troops from the zone. Reports indicate that 54 people were killed by the Amhara special police in Artuma Fursi district, and that Ethiopian military killed at least 26 people in Jilee Dhummuugaa district and 20 in Dawee district. The individuals killed were all civilians, although the reports allege that the victims were targeted based on their supposed connection with the TDF and the OLA. These reports allege that these security forces also burned down civilians’ homes and that 11 people are still missing following the attacks. It should be noted that OLLAA has been unable to independently verify these reports, as the government has imposed an internet shutdown on the Wollo Oromia Special zone for months. 

On Christmas day, the Oromia Communication Bureau announced that, since the state of emergency was declared in early November, 4850 people throughout Oromia had been arrested based on their suspected ties to the OLA or the TDF, including for providing them with supplies, logistics, and information.  They further announced that the Ethiopian government forces had killed 595 prisoners in East Wollega zone, 118 prisoners in West Wollega zone, and 495 prisoners in West Shewa since the state of emergency was declared. 

OLLAA condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the continued targeting of civilians under the auspices of the Ethiopian government’s state of emergency, whose overbroad powers give Ethiopian security forces the authority to arrest anyone suspected of being connected to the OLA and TPLF (organizations that the Ethiopian government has deemed to be “terrorist groups”), and has led to further arbitrary arrests and detention of civilians.  OLLAA further notes that the state of emergency cannot be used to justify extrajudicial executions, as seen in the Wollo Oromia Special zone and throughout Oromia since the measures were put in place.  

OLLAA expresses its deepest sympathy for the victims of these deadly attacks and their families.  We call on the Ethiopian government to stop utilizing its state of emergency to target innocent civilians because of their purported support for the OLA or TDF, and to protect civlian’s right to life, including by halting all extrajudicial executions throughout the Oromia region and especially in the Wollo Oromia Special zone of Amhara region.  We urge the Ethiopian government and the international community to immediately launch independent, impartial investigations into these allegations and to ensure that all perpetrators of human rights violations are held accountable.  OLLAA also urges the international community to condemn these killings and detentions and take active measures to pressure the Ethiopian government to protect the human rights of its citizens. 

OLLAA is an umbrella organization that represents dozens of Oromo communities around the world.