Armed men linked to Ethiopia’s rebel Oromo Liberation Army have been accused of kidnapping more than a dozen employees of the Dangote Cement factory, which is owned by Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
According to two business executives, the Dangote Cement factory bus was attacked on Wednesday morning in Ada’a Berga region, less than 90 kilometres west of Addis Abeba.
A senior business executive informed the BBC that 17 employees who were on their way to a mineral extraction location had not yet returned.
The Oromo Liberation Army, which has been accused of trying to get money from civilians more than once, hasn’t said anything right away.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) is an Ethiopian armed rebel organisation. Former armed members of the pre-peace deal Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) who refused to disarm due to skepticism about the peace accord, as well as former youth demonstrators who were disillusioned with nonviolent resistance, make up the OLA. The Ethiopian government currently considers the OLF to be a lawful political party, but the OLA to be a terrorist organisation, though the OLA is accused of continuing to act as the armed wing of the OLF.
The 2.5Mta Dangote Cement facility, located less than 90 kilometres from Addis Abeba, was commissioned in May 2015. With over 223 million tonnes of limestone deposits, the Dangote Cement facility is Ethiopia’s largest cement plant, capable of manufacturing high-quality 32.5 and 42.5-grade cement to fulfil market demands at affordable prices.