Ethiopia. Amhara Muslim massacre in Western Oromia meantime Abiy change partner from Amhara to Oromo.
The massacre that took place last week in Western Oromia where over 300 people of Amhara origin were horribly massacred confirms that the civil war in Ethiopia has turned into an ethnic war of all against all where political solutions seem impossible. While Premier Abiy is trying to abandon his Amhara allies to lean on the more opportunistic and fraudulent sectors of Oromo against OLF and OLA.
On Saturday 18 June, yet another ethnic massacre took place in Ethiopia. Over 300 Muslims of the Amhara ethnic group were killed in the locality of Tole in the district of Gimbi, western Oromia where the Amhara represent a minority. “So far we have buried 260 people. I took part in collecting the bodies and burying them. We just buried them on a farm. We buried 50 to 60 bodies in single graves, “a survivor who managed to escape by hiding in a ditch but who lost four brothers and three cousins in the attack told Reuters. Eyewitnesses report that the attackers were ethnic Oromo.
“It was an Amhara massacre,” denounced another survivor, adding that he was saved by hiding in a forest and that he had heard the attackers speak in the Oromo language. On Sunday, a witness said the local Amhara community was desperately trying to be relocated “before another round of mass killings occurred,” adding that the Amhara, who had settled in the area some 30 years ago in the as part of resettlement programs, they were “killed like chickens”.
The country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, condemned what he described as “horrible acts” in Oromia, but did not provide details on the violence. “Attacks on innocent civilians and the destruction of livelihoods by illegal and irregular forces are unacceptable,” Abiy said on Twitter on Monday, promising “zero tolerance for horrific acts … by elements whose primary goal is terrorize communities, “Abiy said. Words dripping with hypocrisy and falsehood since the Nobel Peace Prize winner is not only responsible for this senseless war that has lasted for almost two years but is the creator of the genocide that is taking place in Tigray and the instigator of tens of thousands of extrajudicial executions of Oromo civilians in Oromia.
In a statement, the Oromia regional government accused the Oromo Liberation Army — OLA, saying the rebels had attacked “having been unable to resist operations launched by federal security forces”. OLA is the armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front, a previously banned opposition group that returned from exile after Abiy took office in 2018. After a brief attempt to exploit the OLF, Abiy in July 2020 arrested the majority of OLF leaders starting the civil war in Oromia. Four months later Abiy and his Eritrean ally: Isaias Afwerki attacked the Tigray. OLA formed an alliance last year with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which fought the federal government in the northern region.
In recent months, a new government offensive has forced OLA to withdraw from some areas where it previously had significant influence. The massacre follows a series of counterattacks carried out by the OLA last week that made it possible to regain some previously lost areas.
An OLA spokesperson, Odaa Tarbii, denied the allegations. “The attack was committed by the regime’s army and local militia as they withdrew from their camp in Gimbi following our recent offensive,” he said in a message to the Associated Press. “They fled to an area called Tole, where they attacked the local population and destroyed their properties in retaliation for their support for OLA. Our fighters had not even reached that area when the attacks took place ”. The OLA has asked for an independent and foreign commission of inquiry stating that it will ensure maximum cooperation. The statement may be credible because the victims were in same way not hostile to OLA and their massacre can be a real good political weapons for Oromo federal government against Oromo Liberation Front and his military wing Oromo Liberation Army.
Amhara community, which represents 20% of the Ethiopian population and is currently in power thanks to the agreement between the nationalists Amhara, Abiy and the Eritrean dictator Afwerki, has unleashed a series of violent demonstrations demanding justice against the massacre of Amhara civilians in Oromia . The federal police intervened with a heavy hand at the University of Addis Ababa to dissolve an unauthorized demonstration of Amhara students that risked turning into an Oromo hunt.
The Nazi leader Amhara Eskinder Nega of the Balderas party, which claims ethnic supremacy Amhara, incited the genocide of the trigines in the Tigray region, added fuel to the fire. Denying that he always boasted that he was a Hitler fan and wanted to follow in his footsteps, he sent the Amhara to attack the Oromo accusing the federal government of cowardice. Denies two months ago he was forced into exile by Premier Abiy in an attempt to curb his Nazi propaganda. The attempt was unsuccessful as Nega, working from abroad, is au lying about his consensus among the increasingly radicalized Amhara, accusing the historical leaders Amhara and Abiy of being “traitors”.
On Friday 25 June, the Ethiopian Premier announced that he had ordered a military offensive in Oromia against the OLA to avenge the massacre, despite the fact that there is no overwhelming evidence that the massacre was committed by the Oromo partisans. This new operation will be carried out with full force or is done to appease the Amhara ethnic group which in recent months seems to be in opposition to Abiy, endangering its hold in power. About a month ago, the Ethiopian Premier launched a military operation against the fascist Amhara FANO militia in the Amhara region, however, reporting heavy defeats that forced him to suspend hostilities. Amhara leadership and Amhara people feel themselves betrayed by Abiy that is becaming their Enemy Number One worst than TPLF and OLA.
To counterbalance the Amhara, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Premier is attempting to reconnect with some Oromo parties in the hope of forming a future majority within his artificial political movement: the Prosperity Party and maintaining power in Ethiopia. Since May, various officials of the public administration of Amhara origin and police and army officers are progressively replaced with new Oromo allies. Abiy is leaning on the Oromia government led by Shimallis Abdiisaa and his former friend and rival Jawaar Mahammad, founder of the Oromia Media Network.
While Abdiisaa openly collaborates with Abiy by taking advantage of PM weakness to increase his criminal and mafia network within the Ethiopian state and agreeing to conduct Oromo massacres in his own region to strengthen federal power, Jawaar, imprisoned in 2020 by order of the Premier and released in January 2022, it is ensuring support for the Prosperity Party regime in a more discreet and sneaky way, supporting the cumbersome national reconciliation dialogue launched in February 2022 by Abiy and almost failed as the dialogue is not attended by OLA, TPLF and the opposition of the Somali Region and the Gambella region.
Jawaar, despite the harsh period of imprisonment inflicted on him, would be inclined to support Abiy. In addition to being a personal friend of his, Jawaar played a key role in 2018 to secure popular support for Abiy in Oromia, before the latter decided to wage war to strengthen his alliance with the nationalist extremists Amhara. Despite the different approaches and tactics adopted, both Adbiisaa and Jawaara are helping to weaken the Oromo front in favor of Warlord Abiy.
Ethiopia is experiencing a catastrophe of biblical dimensions, with a zero economy and a civil war that has now become ethnic war and deep divisions and hatreds are emerging in Africa’s second most populous country, over 110 million inhabitants. Will Davison, an Ethiopian expert at the International Crisis Group, said the situation in Ethiopia is deteriorating. “The problems have political roots but they are disguised for ethnic reasons and there is no sign that they are being addressed. So, for now, that means more and more intense violence on both sides, ”Davison said.
The Oromo Liberation Army — OLA has formed a military political alliance with the GLF — Gambela Liberation Front by launching a major military offensive between the regions of Oromia and Gambella, conquering various areas including Dembi Dollo, Qellem Wellega and Abba Dolla. The OLA also maintains its military political alliance with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front — TPLF despite the latter giving signs of seeking a separate solution with the federal government.
