A bus full of passengers was kidnapped by gunmen on Thursday while travelling from Ethiopia’s Amhara region to the capital Addis Ababa.
The bus was kidnapped near Gohatsion town, in the Oromia region along the Addis Ababa -Gojam route.
Drivers along the route confirmed a passenger-bus known locally as “Tata” full of passengers was abducted on Thursday around 10:30 a.m. at Kerebuha locality – located 6 kilometers from Gohatsion town in Oromia region.
A week ago, armed men abducted 44 passengers in an attack targeting a passenger- bus near Alidoro town, 144 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
From reports so far, 12 passengers were shot dead while still in the bus. The remaining passengers are reportedly taken to nearby jungles. It is not immediately clear if the bodies of those killed in the attack are taken care of.
The drivers told APA that government structures in the area are actively involved in the tragic incident.
The government usually links abductions and killings to Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), Shane as it refers to it, a militant ethnic Oromo nationalist group.
Yeshoferoch Andebet, a social media based advocacy for long distance intra-Ethiopia drivers called for an immediate and unconditional release of those abducted.
There has been a recurring attack on passenger buses, travelling from Amhara region to Addis Ababa or the other way, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The drivers blame the government for failing to take serious action.
MG/abj/APA