Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported Thursday that 48 people, including a local official, were killed in a brutal ambush in the North Shewa district of Oromia. The EHRC attributed the attack to armed rebels of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which Ethiopia’s government designates as a terrorist organization. Alongside the fatalities, an unspecified number of people were also kidnapped during the assault.
The EHRC, an independent rights watchdog, announced it is actively investigating the mass killing and working to verify the circumstances around the attack. The ambush took place last week in Oromia, Ethiopia’s most populous region, located to the west of Addis Ababa. The region has been grappling with longstanding violence fueled by an insurrection by the OLA since 2018, as well as by ethnic strife, political tensions, and land disputes.
Efforts to initiate peace talks with the OLA have so far been unsuccessful, with both sides accusing each other of escalating the violence. The Ethiopian government has long held the OLA responsible for orchestrating massacres in the region—allegations that the group vehemently denies. Meanwhile, Oromo leaders have argued that the government’s crackdown on suspected OLA members has intensified resentment among Oromia’s communities, contributing to instability across the central Ethiopian region.
The OLA’s activities, along with the government’s military response, have left Oromia in turmoil, highlighting the ongoing security crisis that has continued to engulf Ethiopia despite various attempts at dialogue.
