EVN, Sep 20 — A violent incident in Minjar Shenkora district has left at least ten civilians dead and several displaced from their homes. Local authorities and victims have attributed the tragic event to an attack by the security forces of the Oromia region on Awra Godana, also known as Korke, a town situated in the North Showa zone within the Menjar Shenkora district of the Amara region.
Details emerging from the scene paint a distressing picture of destruction and upheaval. According to accounts from residents who spoke with Voice of America (VOA), property along the highway linking Addis Ababa to Djibouti was looted and left in ruins. Survivors were left in a state of disarray as they fled the violence, which they claim was orchestrated by the “Oromia Special Forces.”
Mr. Siraj Aliye Adam, head of the Irrigation and Pastoral Area Development Office in Menjar Shenkora District, revealed that the troubling incident unfolded last Sunday, a day after defense forces and federal police abruptly vacated the area.
Despite repeated attempts to seek clarification and responses from key authorities, including the spokesperson of the Oromia Regional Government, the Eastern Showa Zone Communication Office, and the Fentale District Governor, no official comments have been forthcoming. Oromia region and federal officials had claimed that the special force in the region was disbanded. However, this is widely reported to be untrue.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission recently accused security and defense forces of deliberately targeting and killing civilians indiscriminately.
Meanwhile, in Gida Ayana District of East Wollega Zone in the Oromia Region, district officials report that militants allegedly killed five peoplwhile others sustained injuries.
According to residents of the district who shared their accounts with VOA, they were among those directly affected by the violence, as they found themselves under gunfire from the assailants. The attack occurred as travelers were making their way to Gida Ayana town from Nekmet through Anger Gute, specifically at a location known as Dchoo, resulting in the tragic deaths of five individuals.
Gida Ayana District Hospital mobilized announced that the bodies of the five people who were injured in the attack were transported to the hospital from the affected area.
