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Ethiopia – Ethnic Violence Out of Control

Ethiopia – Ethnic Violence Out of Control Close to 80 people have been killed in clashes between Oromos and Somali Ethiopians, BBC Monitoring reported in late December.The clashes reportedly happened in various areas in east and west Harerge administrative zones of Oromia Regional State, pushing the country to the brink of a security crisis.The latest spate of violence began on December 14th, barely two days after the killing of 16 civilians in Chelenko, East Harerge, by federal security forces. Members of the Ethiopian Defence Force (EDF) fired on peaceful protesters, Shabelle Media Network reported.The demonstration was prompted by the killing of an individual by security forces of Ethiopia's Somali Region, in the latest chapter of a longstanding border dispute between Ethiopia's two largest states, Oromia and Ethiopian Somali.In an unusual move, the party governing Oromia – the Oromo People Democratic Organisation (OPDO), a member of Ethiopia's governing coalition, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – released a strong statement accusing members of the EDF of violating the Ethiopian Constitution and vowing to investigate the killings.Some suggested the statement was merely a symbolic initiative. Others considered it a signal of the power struggle raging within the multi‐ethnic governing coalition, the EPRDF.Power is heavily concentrated among members of the Tigrayan People Liberation Front (TPLF). However, some fear that if OPDO continues down this road, it will be looking to defend itself using weapons, which could plunge Ethiopia into civil war.Oromia Regional State President Lema Megersa condemned the killings on top of alluding that the federal forces who acted in Chelenko were doing so without the consent of his administration, according to The Reporter newspaper.Two students were also reported killed on December 10th in separate clashes at the Wollega University campus in Oromia, while another person was reported killed at Adigrat University in Ethiopia's north.The US embassy in Ethiopia has expressed concern over the escalating unrest and urged the government to hold to account those responsible for the deadly violence. (BBC Monitoring 14, 19/12; Shabelle Media Network 17/12; The Reporter 17/12; © AFP 13/12 2017)Kenyan security personnel were deployed to the Ethiopian border following the latest clashes, according to Kenyan newspaper The Standard. Officials told the newspaper on December 20th that the move was necessary given that the tribes involved also lie in Moyale in Kenya. Kenyan officials now fear a spillover of the battle into its territory. (The Standard 21/12)Two mass graves have been found in Ethiopia's restive Oromia Regional State, the private Horn Affairs website reported, quoting the president of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State Abdi Mohamed.“Two mass graves and 48 bodies of [ethnic Ethiopian] Somalis killed in Gadulo, Oromia region, have been recovered,” said the report. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn condemned what he described “mass killing” in areas bordering the two regional states. (Horn Affairs 20/12) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

Ethiopia – Ethnic Violence Out of Control

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2018.08035.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

Close to 80 people have been killed in clashes between Oromos and Somali Ethiopians, BBC Monitoring reported in late December.The clashes reportedly happened in various areas in east and west Harerge administrative zones of Oromia Regional State, pushing the country to the brink of a security crisis.The latest spate of violence began on December 14th, barely two days after the killing of 16 civilians in Chelenko, East Harerge, by federal security forces. Members of the Ethiopian Defence Force (EDF) fired on peaceful protesters, Shabelle Media Network reported.The demonstration was prompted by the killing of an individual by security forces of Ethiopia's Somali Region, in the latest chapter of a longstanding border dispute between Ethiopia's two largest states, Oromia and Ethiopian Somali.In an unusual move, the party governing Oromia – the Oromo People Democratic Organisation (OPDO), a member of Ethiopia's governing coalition, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – released a strong statement accusing members of the EDF of violating the Ethiopian Constitution and vowing to investigate the killings.Some suggested the statement was merely a symbolic initiative. Others considered it a signal of the power struggle raging within the multi‐ethnic governing coalition, the EPRDF.Power is heavily concentrated among members of the Tigrayan People Liberation Front (TPLF). However, some fear that if OPDO continues down this road, it will be looking to defend itself using weapons, which could plunge Ethiopia into civil war.Oromia Regional State President Lema Megersa condemned the killings on top of alluding that the federal forces who acted in Chelenko were doing so without the consent of his administration, according to The Reporter newspaper.Two students were also reported killed on December 10th in separate clashes at the Wollega University campus in Oromia, while another person was reported killed at Adigrat University in Ethiopia's north.The US embassy in Ethiopia has expressed concern over the escalating unrest and urged the government to hold to account those responsible for the deadly violence. (BBC Monitoring 14, 19/12; Shabelle Media Network 17/12; The Reporter 17/12; © AFP 13/12 2017)Kenyan security personnel were deployed to the Ethiopian border following the latest clashes, according to Kenyan newspaper The Standard. Officials told the newspaper on December 20th that the move was necessary given that the tribes involved also lie in Moyale in Kenya. Kenyan officials now fear a spillover of the battle into its territory. (The Standard 21/12)Two mass graves have been found in Ethiopia's restive Oromia Regional State, the private Horn Affairs website reported, quoting the president of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State Abdi Mohamed.“Two mass graves and 48 bodies of [ethnic Ethiopian] Somalis killed in Gadulo, Oromia region, have been recovered,” said the report. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn condemned what he described “mass killing” in areas bordering the two regional states. (Horn Affairs 20/12)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 2018

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