OLLAA has received a credible report regarding the extrajudicial killing of Bulga Boru, a 27 year old father of three, who was shot dead by Oromia Regional Forces in Dhebiti, a village located in the Fantalle District.
The Fantalle district is the homeland of Karrayyu Oromo pastoralists, known for herding camels and cattle in the upper Awash Valley. Karrayyu herders tend to carry machine guns to protect their animals from predators and self-defense. They are not known to be associated with any movements. According to OLLAA’s source, on April 26, Mr. Boru was shot dead in cold blood as he was feeding his cows after returning from a nearby town to buy hay for his cattle. Mr. Boru was not the only victim, as three others were killed: an elderly woman, a man in his late 50’s and a 15 year old student. OLLAA’s source is not certain why they were targeted, but speculates Oromo regional forces are targeting civilians as a result of an earlier skirmish with the Amhara militia where twenty six Oromia forces were killed. The Oromo forces saw Mr. Boru with a gun and likely suspected he was with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and extrajudicially killed him. The military denied access to the bodies and harrassed family members who requested their release. The bodies were retrieved four days after the militia left the area and by this time, the bodies were eaten by scavengers.
This is not the first time Fantalle District has been targeted. In December 2021, Ethiopian Federal Forces attacked Karayu Oromos in Baru Nura village and forty people were abducted and the bodies of fourteen people found. Many in the community have hidden or fled. Our source claims the Amhara militia is still in the area, numbering at about 2,000 and forcing the community to feed them. This will soon be problematic as April-May is considered to be the driest months of the year and a drought is predicted for this summer.
International Law
Under international law, States are obligated to ensure that the State, or its agents, like police officers or members of the military, do not violate the rights of its citizens. Multiple human rights treaties that Ethiopia is a party to uphold the right to life as a fundamental right, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Extrajudicial executions are a violation of the right to life, and involve the deliberate killing of an individual by a State agent outside of a legal framework.