In a statement, the Oromia regional government also blamed the OLA, saying the rebels had attacked “after being unable to resist the operations launched by security forces”.Īn OLA spokesperson, Odaa Tarbii, denied the allegations. He said ethnic Amhara who settled in the area about 30 years ago in resettlement programmes were being “killed like chickens”īoth witnesses blamed the Oromo Liberation Army for the attacks. Shambel, another witness who gave only his first name over fears for his safety, said the local Amhara community was desperately seeking to be relocated “before another round of mass killings happen”. Federal army units have now arrived, but we fear that the attacks could continue if they leave.”
“We are burying them in mass graves, and we are still collecting bodies. I am afraid this is the deadliest attack against civilians we have seen in our lifetime,” Abdul-Seid Tahir, a resident of Gimbi county, told the Associated Press after barely escaping the attack on Saturday.
