Eyewitnesses told AP that drone attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region last week resulted in the death of several dozen civilians. The Oromo Liberation Army’s (OLA) bases were attacked as fighting between federal forces and the outlawed group, qualified as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government, grew more intense.
A witness requesting anonymity for his safety told AP: “I lost three of my brothers in a drone attack on Wednesday, October 19… My brothers were students, and we buried their dismembered bodies.” The assault took place in the Metta Welkite neighborhood at noon. After an earlier drone strike, they went outside to transport the injured to medical facilities. However, a drone also killed 20 other people.
An engineer who witnessed the attack’s aftermath stated: “The rebel group told residents to attend the ceremony, so hundreds of people were there … (because) not attending the event was not an option…What I saw some 20 minutes after the attack was carnage. Women, children, the elderly, and some rebel group members were killed.”
The deadliest drone attack happened on Sunday during a graduation ceremony for OLA members in West Shewa’s Cobi County, says AP.
According to AP, federal officials have not supplied information, and local officials have declined to comment on the strikes. However, in a statement released Tuesday, the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, one of Ethiopia’s most prominent political organizations, acknowledged the attacks.
According to a statement from the party that has a sizable following in the Oromia area: “the irresponsible drone attack on Sunday killed 7- and 10-year-old children, mothers, the elderly and disabled people… The government … is busy using drones and fighter jets against civilians. And it is trying to hide these killings against ethnic Oromos from the public.”
The Oromo Liberation Army, which the Ethiopian government holds responsible for recent mass killings, claimed on Tuesday that during the past few days, the government has “indiscriminately massacred civilians” in the western and central Oromia communities of Metta, Nunu Qumba, Wama Hagalo, and Cobi reports AP.
The OLA claimed that hundreds of people had died and that schools and public gatherings had been attacked.