Ethiopia Deputy PM condemns "inhuman weekend massacre"-Xinhua

Ethiopia Deputy PM condemns "inhuman weekend massacre"

Source: Xinhua| 2022-06-20 23:27:00|Editor: huaxia

ADDIS ABABA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen on Monday condemned an "inhuman weekend massacre" happened in the country's Oromia region.

Mekonnen said the "inhuman massacre" which happened Saturday in Gimbi district, West Wollega zone of Oromia regional state, was committed by a group in response to recent battlefield losses.

Mekonnen was referring to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a breakaway armed faction of an ex-rebel group Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The OLA is estimated to have around 3,000 plus fighters, operating in the western and southern parts of Oromia regional state, the principal homeland of ethnic Oromos who make up around 35 percent of Ethiopia's total population.

In May 2021, the Ethiopian parliament voted to designate the OLA as a "terrorist group".

"I express my deepest condolences with regards to the destructive actions taken on our civilians. I would like further to assure that the government law enforcement operation will continue in a vigorous manner," Mekonnen stated.

The Ethiopia deputy prime minister also said his government will intensify efforts to rehabilitate victims' families, as well as bring to justice terrorists and extremists.

An attack on ethnic Amhara farmers on Saturday in Tole rural locality, Gimbi district, West Wollega zone of Oromia regional state reportedly left scores of civilians dead.

Ethiopian government officials and survivors have accused OLA fighters of carrying out the weekend attack, a charge the rebel group has denied.

The Ethiopian government hasn't yet released casualty figures, though survivors reached by some international media on phone has put up a death toll over two hundred people.

In recent years, armed attacks as well as deadly clashes in parts of Oromia regional state have left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. The clashes are partly over longstanding claims to power and land resources.

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