The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) otherwise known as ‘Shane’ and the Amhara militants are the major actors in the ongoing conflict in Wollega zones of Oromia Regional State.
Hundreds of civilians were killed as hundreds of thousands others were displaced due to the continuing ethnic based attacks in east Wollega and Horo Guduru zones of the Oromia regional state, the commission said on Wednesday in its six-month report.
The commission urged the federal government to take proportional measures to stop the killing and find a lasting solution to end the conflict in the region. It blamed the federal and regional governments for failing to take necessary measures to stop the unfolding atrocities.
The commission labeled the attacks as “grave violation of human rights”, noting that the conflicts are spreading in different parts of the region.
Based on its assessment, the commission said civil servants and security personnel were among the victims of the targeted attacks occurring in the regional state.
EHRC’s report indicated that public and private properties have been looted or vandalized by the armed groups while leaving the public out of social services.
Government security forces and residents who armed themselves upon the consent of the government, the Amhara militants and rebellious Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) are the armed actors operating in the region.
The commission noted that several civilians have been killed in exchange of fire between government security forces and one of the armed groups as well as separate attacks that could be committed by one of the armed groups.
Some towns in the region have been wholly demolished due to the conflict said the commission, highlighting that the attacks that occur after an armed group takes control of a certain place was ‘very severe.”
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