Officials say clashes in Ethiopia‘s Amhara region have killed at least 20 people and injured another 50. The violence has been blamed on various parties. Amhara officials blame the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the violence, while Oromo officials blame Amhara Fano militias.
Neither group has issued an official statement on the incident. Over 5,000 individuals were also displaced as a result of the violence, which lasted several days.
The violence occurred in Amhara’s distant villages, which border the Oromo zone’s Jille Dhumuga and the North Shoa zone’s Efrata Gidim district.
As Tigrayan fighters, Ethiopian government forces, and local Amhara forces fought for control of the region, severe destruction, displacement, and suffering occurred in crucial towns in Amhara.
In December 2021, Tigrayan fighters are believed to have been defeated in the highlands around Mezezo in the Amhara area. They were on their way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. clash lasted five days. People stayed indoors during severe battle because the sound of artillery intimidated them.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), is an ethnic Oromo armed group fighting the Ethiopian government alongside Tigrayan rebels. They (OLA) are based in Oromia, the largest region in the Ethiopia that encloses Addis Ababa.
In August 2021, the armed group announced they had formed an alliance with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting government forces in the north of the country since November 2020.
For the past one year, the warring parties have remained deaf to the international community’s calls for a ceasefire, which have multiplied in recent days.