(Updated on the seventh paragraph with additional info about the deceased)
Oromia president pledged quick inquiry, as the number of people killed due to a clash in the eastern town of Chelenko reached sixteen.
Last Monday, federal security forces shot several people while disbanding a crowd in Chelenko town, Meta woreda, Oromia region.
The spokesperson of Oromia region posted on Monday on his facebook that six people were killed by the federal army, which applied lethal force to disband a local crowd and open a main road crossing the town.
The locals blocked the road due to anger over the killing of one person by Somali region special police in the border kebele of Serkema, the spokesperson narrated on his post.
A US-based opposition media, OMN, claimed, “the local crowd was moving to help their compatriots who are fighting in Serkema kebele when they clashed with the solidiers”. It also aired a footage of burning buildings and roadblocks.
The latest figure from Oromia region officials indicated the death toll reached sixteen. Another thirteen people were wounded.
Nine of them were killed in Chelenko, while seven were killed in the neighboring Dishe kebele. The same army unit dispatched to Chelenko was responsible for the shooting of the seven people in Dishe kebele, while gathered for a farmwork, a local official told VOA radio on Thursday.
The nature of the conflict in Serkema kebele is not fully known. Somali region sources told HornAffairs that local Somalis were trying to recover more than fifty camels, which were taken by a group of Oromo men days earlier. The sources claimed the camels belonged to Rerekun and Ferbula sub-clans of Issa and the federal army failed on its promises to recover the camels.
The official facebook page of Oromia’s ruling party OPDO/EPRDF posted on Tuesday that an inquiry committee drawn from members of the regional Council of Representatives will be tasked to the circumstances of the Chelenko tragedy.
On Wednesday, Oromia president Lemma Megersa appeared on the regional television to denounce the killing. He said he didn’t know “who called and who ordered the force” and characterized it as “illegal”, according to the region’s official broadcaster OBN Amharic.
A quick inquiry will be conducted to hold the solidiers accountable and to inform the public about the circumstances, the regional president pledged.
Last September, following the conflict between Oromia and Somali regions, it was announced that the adjacent districts of the two regions and main roads would be placed under federal security forces.
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we are counting down the last days of the chauvinist, pupilist and stinky corrupt oromo politicians.
Tigrai General if they were barabric like you and your outfoxed man, they would have destroyed you 26 years ago. not now. when they have empowered you and brought u to powe out of nowhere. Rememebr what OLF did tour mothers, brothers and sisters in BEDENO rather than pointing ur finger at the seasoned, civlized and human Tigrai Generals.
Moreover, Tigraian are and never been minor, they are the pillars of the currnet Ethiopia and they stand second to none when counting civization of Ethiopia
populism is not the culture of EPRDF . Some people , like Lema , are running after personal fame like movie and pop stars. POLITICS DOES NOT WORK THATV WAY .
in politics , you stand for principles and take personal responsibility . There are things you must do to preserve peace and stability , regardless of peoples opinion .
Politics is for people with bold moves . Not for those who seek to be loved .
if U WANT TO BE LOVED , be mother tesera .
The time demands bold and unflinching decision makers . Not Hollywood actors .
THE DESIRE TO GET PUBLIC FAME AT THE EXPENCE OF OTHERS or the attitude of ” SEE I AM A GOOD MAN , BUT SO AND SO IS ATTCAKING YOU ” is a silly game .
The federal government has the obligation to stop insurrection . Especially if the insurrections are orchestrated by cadres .
Infact , the federal government security apparatus need to deal with regional leaders as their playing innocent is making lose credibility . BESIDES ,THEY DO NOT CONTROL RIOT AND CONTINUE TO ACT AS IF THEY ARE THE LAW .
TRUST ME , IT IS REGIONAL GOVERMENTS INSTIGATING HATRED AND RIOT . DEAL WITH THEM REGARDLESS OF THE OUT COME . SHOW THEM THAT THEY CAN NOT HIDE BY PLAYING POPULISM .
የለማ መገርሳ EXTERNALIZE ማድረግ የሚባለው የእንግሊዝኛ ቃል አደናጋሪ ነው። ፌደራልና የክልል አስተዳደር የስራ ክፍፍል ይኖራቸዋል ተብሎ ይገመታል። በአሜሪካን ፌደራላዊ አስተዳደር የምናየው ይኸው ነው። በአንድ ክልል የሚነሳ ተቃውሞ ወይም አመጽ በክልሉ ፌደራላዊ መንግስት ማስተካከል ወይም መቆጣጠር ያልቻለበት ሁኔታ ሲፈጠር ፌደራል ጣልቃ ይገባል። ኢትዮጵያም እንደዝሁ።
ሌላም በክልሉ የተደረጉ እንቅስቃሴዎች ሌሎች ክልሎችንም የምነካ ነው ለምን ተዘነጋ? ለምሳሌ ወደ አዲስ አበባ የሚወስድ መንገድ ከተዘጋ ከደቡብ ከምስራቅ የሚደረገው እንቅስቃሴም ይጎዳል። አገሪቱ ትበጠበጣለች። ስለዝህ ፌደራል መንግስቱን የሚመለከት ሆኗል። የኦሮሚያ አስተዳደር ጣልቃ ገብቶ ጉዳዩን ካላየና ካላስተካከለ የግድ ፌደራል ይገባል። በዝህ ግብግብ የኦሮሞ የድሃ ልጅ ህይወት ሊጠፋ ችሏል። ብዙ ተፍጣልም።
ለምንድነው ሰበብ አስባብ የሚፈጥረው? ኦፒዲኦ ሳያውቅም ሆነ አውቆ ለህዝብ ጥያቄ መልስ ባለመስጠቱ ወይም መፍትሄ ሊያመጣ ስላልቻለ ወይም ስላልፈለገ ፌደራል ጣልቃ ገባ። እኔ ሳልሆን ፌደራል ነው ይህ የሰራው ለማለት ነው? ኦፒዲኦ ለምንድነው ለህዝብ ጥያቄ መልስ መስጠት የተሳነው? ቢያንስ የታሰሩትን ማስፈታት አይችልም?