On Tuesday, Battee Urgessaa, Oromo Liberation Front Political officer, was shot dead in Meki town. According to information reached APA, Urgessaa was taken from a hotel where he was staying and riddled with six bullets. His body was dumped outside of Meki town.
Urgessaa was released from prison about three weeks ago on a 100,000 Ethiopian birr bail.
“The OLF learned today the brutal murder of its member and political officer Jaal Battee Urgessaa with agony and grave sadness,” OLF said on Thursday in a statement.
OLF is pointing fingers at the government over the killing. “The unwarranted and extrajudicial killing of conscious and active Oromo political and cultural figures has been a systematic and irresponsible act of silencing the Oromo throughout years and decades,” it said. It said the government security forces are behind the killing.
The Oromia regional government on Thursday released a statement saying pointing at the government in connection with the killing of Battee Urgessaa is unacceptable. It said he was killed by “unidentified gunmen.”
Furthermore, it said those who are blaming the government are trying to make a political score to compensate for their losses. Urgessa is survived by four children and his wife.
MG/abj/APA