According to a statement from the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the incident appears to be an ethnically targeted attack. This is the second attack on civilians in the Oromia region within a month.
The EHRC says residents of Mender 20 and Mender 21 villages in Hawa Gelan in Oromia’s Kelam Wolega zone are “predominantly of Amhara ethnic origin” and residents are hiding elsewhere despite security forces arriving in the area.
“Shane Group” [another name for the OLA]fleeing security forces, threatening civilians in the western part of [Wollega], In the Oromia region, citizens [Kellem Wollega] were massacred. We mourn the loss of our citizens,” Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed tweeted on Monday.
“We will chase this terrorist group till the end and eliminate it with our people,” he said.
The OLA denied the allegations and blamed the government militia for the apparent massacre.
“Two divisions of the ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) along with Allied forces are occupying the towns of [Kellem Wollega], including Machhara, where security forces did nothing, where civilians were massacred by the regime’s militia. Governance thinks it can just point fingers and evade accountability,” ODA spokesperson Oda Tarabi tweeted Monday in response to Abiy’s statement.
The OLA, which formed an alliance with Tigreyan forces against the federal government last year, was designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government in 2021. The group has often been accused of attacking civilians and targeting ethnic Amhars.
The attacks have come amid rising ethnic tensions across the country in recent years.
“The continued insecurity in the area and the ethnically targeted killing of residents must be stopped immediately,” said EHRC Chief Commissioner Dr. Daniel Bekele, who reiterated the EHRC’s call for an immediate ramp up of government security forces so that more people in the area More civilian deaths could be prevented.