Introduction
Sibu Sire woreda is located in the East Wollega zone, Oromia region, approximately 274 km from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The most recent population estimates for the woreda were published in 2005 by Ethiopia’s Central Statistical Agency, who reported that 97,864 people lived in the woreda, the vast majority of whom are Oromos. Like much of Oromia, Sibu Sire has been subject to frequent internet shutdowns over the past few years. Such shutdowns have made it difficult for individuals on the ground to share reports of human rights violations, including, most recently, a series of attacks perpetrated by Amhara militias which reportedly led to the mass displacement of roughly 15% of the population of Sibu Sire. As the primary duty bearer under international human rights law, the Ethiopian government has a duty to protect its civilians from attacks from armed non-State actors and to launch independent and effective investigations into such attacks.
While many families were initially able to escape Sibu Sire and seek humanitarian assistance from civil society organizations on the ground in the East Wollega zone, reports indicate that the Ethiopian government has taken further actions that violate their rights as internally displaced persons (IDPs), including by attempting to force them to return to an unsafe area. Any attempt to force IDPs to return to a place where their lives would be at risk are considered to be a contravention of international standards, and must be condemned.
The Role of Amhara Militias in Attacks Against Oromo Civilians throughout Ethiopia
Acts of mass violence against civilians are not uncommon throughout Ethiopia, including within the Oromia region, where attacks have been perpetrated by a wide variety of actors, including the Amhara regional forces, Oromia regional forces, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), and Amhara militias (fano), among others.
One long standing pattern of attacks seen against Oromo civilians are perpetrated by Amhara militias, armed groups that are not officially connected with the Amhara regional government, although at times it has been reported that they have operated alongside government operatives. Most attacks perpetrated by Amhara militias occur in parts of Oromia that border the Amhara region, including the East Wollega, Horo Guduru Wollega, and West Shewa zones in Oromia, as well as the Wollo Oromia Special zone in the Amhara region. At times, these attacks stem from clashes between Amhara militias and the OLA or from intercommunal violence between Oromo and Amhara communities. At other times, Amhara militias reportedly attack innocent civilians without provocation.
Attacks Against Oromo Civilians in East Wollega from November 2021
In recent months, there has been an uptick in reporting about violent attacks on civilians in the East Wollega zone by Amhara militias, likely beginning around November 2021, and continuing to the present day. In January, the Oromia regional government reported that 128,000 people had been displaced from Guto Gida woreda in recent months due to attacks by “an Amharic speaking radical armed group”. Further attacks were also reported in Limmu woreda, leaving an estimated 12,000 people internally displaced. Reports indicate that the Amhara militias operating in these areas have attacked civilians, and engaged in “widespread looting and torching of villages.”
Among the woredas affected by this recent series of attacks is Sibu Sire. Reports from Oromo civilians who survived the attacks in Sibu Sire suggest that they began in November 2021, and that the Amhara militias who perpetrated the attacks claimed “Shane” (a term frequently used to refer to the OLA) were living in the area, and that locals had been providing the OLA with food. This claim has been disputed by our sources, who claim that OLA was not operating in the district.
Estimates of the total number of individuals displaced during these attacks vary slightly, ranging from 14,000-15000 people. Assuming that the population data published by Ethiopia’s Central Statistical Agency in 2005 is still accurate, this would mean that approximately 15% of Sibu Sire’s population was displaced as a result of these attacks.
But numbers alone cannot give a full picture of the extent to which countless individuals’ lives were affected by these attacks. Reports from survivors, provided to OLLAA by credible sources, indicate that during these attacks, Amhara militias injured and killed countless individuals. One former resident of Sibu Sire reported that he and his family had to hide in the mountains to escape their attackers, and that the militias deliberately burned entire families, including children, alive inside their homes.
While it is likely impossible to estimate the number of people injured or lives lost during these acts of senseless violence, our sources have provided OLLAA with a list of 23 individuals who died during attacks on a single village, Boko Jima:
| Name | |
| 1 | Ahmed Kalif Ali |
| 2 | Abdurahim Ali |
| 3 | Najib Rashid |
| 4 | Mohammed Najib |
| 5 | Asli Mohammed |
| 6 | Haadha Obsa |
| 7 | Haadha Seyfudin |
| 8 | Jafar Mohammedsani |
| 9 | Arabo |
| 10 | Ahmed Aliyi |
| 11 | Muaz Mamude |
| 12 | Ibsa Taha |
| 13 | Kadir Nure Elemo |
| 14 | Mohammed Jamal Asafa |
| 15 | Nasir Abba Abdi |
| 16 | Gamada Shek Nasir |
| 17 | Kamise Jamal |
| 18 | Mohammed Aliyi Hussen |
| 19 | Najash Mohammedsani |
| 20 | Ajaba Amadile |
| 21 | Nasru Mulu |
| 22 | Elias |
| 23 | Shaga |
In addition to attacking civilians, it was also reported that Amhara militias burned down almost all the homes in their villages, destroyed farmer’s harvests, and stole their livestock. For a population largely composed of pastoralists and subsistence level farmers, such actions destroyed not only their homes, but their entire livelihood. As one witness put it:
“They burnt every quintal of the livestock the farmers of the area produced. Houses too–the houses made out of grass, of course, they burn easily–but they even burnt houses made out of steel to the ground. You can’t even see the burned steel anywhere.”
It should be noted that, as the primary duty bearer under international law, the Ethiopian government has the responsibility to protect its citizens from human rights violations committed by armed non-State actors, including by launching effective and independent investigations into attacks, and by ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice and that the victims and their families receive proper restitution.
Attempts to force IDPs to Return to Sibu Sire
Under international law, forcible displacement refers to a situation where a person is forced to leave their home, generally due to violence or human rights violations. Those who remain within the borders of their country after experiencing displacement are referred to as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Following the attacks in Sibu Sire, which led to their villages and homes being, by and large, destroyed, and due to fear of continued violence at the hands of Amhara militias who have continued operations in the woreda, tens of thousands of Oromo civilians were now internally displaced, and forced to seek shelter elsewhere.
Fortunately, many of these IDPs were able to find shelter in nearby areas, and survivors reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross provided them with humanitarian assistance, including blankets, cooking supplies, clothing, ID cards, and food. However, due to the large number of IDPs flooding the area, it was reported that supplies were rather limited.
The Ethiopian government has a great deal of experience in addressing the needs of IDPs, given their prevalence throughout the country (4.17 million as of July 2021), and therefore, should be well aware of their duty to protect those who have been internally displaced from further suffering. The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement clearly set out that IDPs have the right “to be protected against forcible return to or resettlement in any place where their life, safety, liberty and/or health would be at risk”.
Unfortunately, our sources report that members of the Ethiopian government almost immediately began to try to pressure IDPs to return to Sibu Sire, despite their legitimate concerns that the area was unsafe. One survivor responded to this pressure by asking the government to provide military forces to protect them if they returned, but his request was refused. He also reported that another IDP informed the Red Cross about the pressure they were facing from the government, and after the Red Cross reached out to government officials to verify the accuracy of this report, he was arrested. Some IDPs managed to flee the area, but ultimately, the Ethiopian government officials forced the vast majority to return to Sibu Sire. As one survivor put it: “They brought buses and forced people to board them back [to their villages] by beating them and aiming guns at their heads.” Musetfa Kedir, the Commissioner of the Oromia Disaster Risk Management Commission, reportedly declined to comment when questioned about the forced returns of IDPs to Sibu Sire by the Addis Standard.
It is unclear why government officials decided to force the IDPs to return to Sibu Sire, an area where the same Amhara militias who carried out attacks against innocent civilians are still operating, in clear contravention of international standards. One source who OLLAA consulted in the preparation of this report speculated that the decision was purposefully made in order to ensure that word did not get out about these attacks. According to him, “It’s because the Amhara IDPs are collected in one area that they get the attention from the media and different organizations”, whereas, “the IDPs from the Sibu Sire district all have been removed from the area […] and now they have scattered in Oromia.” It is certainly true that word of these attacks took a long time to circulate, far longer than it usually takes to hear about attacks and mass displacement of Amhara civilians, although some of that is likely due to internet shutdowns in East Wollega. What we can say for sure is that it was only when the IDPs, who first survived vicious attacks in Sibu Sire, and then were forced to flee nearby villages due to pressure to return to a conflict zone, reached Adama City, located 356 km from their home, that word began to spread.
Conclusions
Oromo civilians from the East Wollega zone, particularly those from Sibu Sire woreda have continued to face human rights abuses at the hands of the Ethiopian government since at least November 2020. First, they faced a series of violent attacks at the hands of Amhara militias, who not only destroyed their property and source of livelihood, but also left countless injured or dead. As the primary duty bearer under international law, States have the duty to protect civilians, including from acts of violence perpetrated by armed non-State actors, and to fully investigate allegations of human rights abuses and hold perpetrators accountable. Secondly, once they were displaced, the Ethiopian government forced many IDPs to return to Sibu Sire, an area where there is still active conflict perpetrated by those same militias who drove them from their homes. It was not safe for them to return to Sibu Sire, and the Ethiopian government’s decision has likely led to further violence and loss of life for those forced to return.
OLLAA would like to express its gratitude to those IDPs who managed to make it to Adama city and spread the word about what they had experienced. Without their incredible sacrifices and bravery, it is unlikely that anyone would have been made aware of the horrible treatment they, and their fellow IDPs, have been subjected to. The international community must come together in their honor and seek to ensure that these incidents are properly investigated, and that all those who were displaced are protected and receive necessary humanitarian assistance.