(OLF-OLA Press Release)
The state-sponsored genocide by Abiy Ahmed and extremist Amhara forces on the Oromo people has continued in full swing. Benishangul Gumuz region is particularly becoming a staging ground for state terrorist forces comprising the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), Amhara Special Forces, and organized Amhara bandits called Fanno. These forces have long turned this region into a burial ground for innocent Oromos, Tigrayans, and the people native to the Benishangul Gumuz region. We have repeatedly reported that Amhara Special Forces and Fanno militia have massacred civilians and looted the properties of their victims in the region. This state terrorism has continued unabated.
On Tuesday, 15 March 2022, Birhane Ragasa, a pregnant Oromo woman and mother of seven, was brutally murdered by cutting her throat with a knife in another round of Stone Age savagery which is becoming a signature accompanying atrocities being committed by Amhara regional forces. This cowardly act of barbarity took place in Dibate Woreda of the Benishangul Gumuz region.
Only two days later, in the morning hours of 17 March 2022, Amhara forces operating in the Benishangul Gumuz region debussed and abducted eighteen Oromo students. The abduction took place in Dibate Woreda of Benishangul at a place known to locals as Bishan Adi. The following twelve of the eighteen abductees have been identified so far:
Kolte Fayyisa
Tarekegn Argeta
Dabala Siyoum
Ragasa Bagonjo
Jabesa Teshome
Gexe Kabada
Ayantu Gamachu
Haile Bese
Imebet Garoma
Kefyalew Wakjira
Jalane Gamachu
Fayisa Mekonnen
It is to be recalled that Abiy Ahmed’s security forces and the associated Amhara vigilante group had killed scores of natives in Benishangul and burned nine Tigrayans alive in the Benishangul Gumuz region before they turned to yet another tortured version of their barbarism.
We call upon the international community to designate the actions of Amhara security forces and associated vigilante groups as well as Abiy Ahmed’s security forces as acts of state terrorism. The international community has a responsibility to protect civilians from rights abuses anywhere in the world. At the very least, OLF-OLA demands international partners to begin dismantling the regime’s capacity to finance and carry out these terrorist acts on its ‘own’ citizens by sanctioning its key military and economic infrastructure. The single biggest threat to peace and security in the Horn of Africa is Abiy Ahmed and his ring of Amhara terrorist groups. We also remind our people that such a brutal affront on the humanity and dignity of our people will not remain unanswered. The OLF-OLA will continue to do everything in its power to hold the perpetrators accountable and see justice served for our people. Victory to the Oromo and all oppressed people! OLF-OLA High Command March 22, 2022