Ethiopian parliament slams massacre of civilians in Oromia region

By Addis Getachew and Andrew Wasike

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - The Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday deplored Monday's massacre of civilians in the Kelem Wollega zone of the Oromia regional state, according to the state-owned Ethiopian Television.

The government blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the massacre, which is thought to have left hundreds of people dead, while details of the attack remained sketchy.

“The House of Peoples' Representatives condemns the brutal massacre committed by the OLA in Kelem Wollega,” ETV quoted a statement issued by the parliament.

People should rally behind the government in its efforts to crack down on the OLA insurgency, it added.

However, the OLA denied it carried out the attack, and blamed the militia forces for killing scores of people in Kelem Wollega.

“Two divisions of the ENDF (Ethiopia National Defense Forces) along with allied forces are occupying the towns of Qellem Walaga (Kelem Wollega), including Machaara, where civilians were killed en masse by the regime’s militias as security forces did nothing. The regime thinks it can just point fingers and escape accountability,” OLA spokesman Oda Turbi said on his official Twitter account.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that the OLA has been accused of killing civilians in western Wollega.

At least 338 civilians, mostly ethnic Amhara, were killed in an attack two weeks ago.

- Premier vows to eliminate OLA fighters

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused retreating OLA fighters of massacring innocent civilians.

In a tweet, he said the government forces will be in hot pursuit of the armed fighters until they are wiped out.

No casualty figure came out from official sources, but unconfirmed reports put the figure at several hundred.

The OLA is the armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front, a nationalist movement formed in 1973 by the Oromo nationalists for the sovereignty of the Oromo people who hail from the Oromia Region in Ethiopia's Amhara region.

Rights groups have urged the African Union’s Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council to address the crisis in Ethiopia to protect vulnerable populations and prevent mass atrocities.