The Ethiopian government said it has killed a senior leader of the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) whom it identified as Jal Urji in the country’s Oromia region.
The killing came just a day after a fresh massacre of civilians against ethnic Amhara people by the OLF militants in Horo Guduru Wollega zone in the same region.
Government Communication Service (GCS) disclosed the information in what appears to be an explanation for the renewed radical ethnic Oromo nationalist group attack on civilians and militia in the area cited above.
The government has not disclosed the number of deaths or wounds from the latest attack but residents told APA that at least 15 civilians were killed in Kiramu district of Horo Guduru zone during the latest attack.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Government Communications Affairs Ministry linked the motive of the recent attack to the death of Jal Uri.
It also linked it to the upcoming Meskel celebration (a UNESCO-recognized Ethiopian Church open-air celebration) and Irreccha celebration (it is an ethnic Oromo traditional religion that is mainly celebrated near the lake in Bishoftu) celebration.
The militant group has been actively engaged in massacring civilians, mostly in the Oromo region, by targeting ethnic Amhara civilian populations and in some instances Oromia regional state zone and district-level authorities. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the area in the past four or so years.
The Ethiopian parliament has designated the group as a terrorist organization, just like the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
MG/abj/APA