Ethiopia weekly update (9 July 2024)

Situation summary

Kidnappings and clashes were reported in areas along the Oromia and Amhara regional borders, and a top local official was assassinated in Oromia Special zone in Amhara region. Meanwhile, internally displaced people continued to return to areas of disputed territory in Tigray region. In Central Ethiopia region, attacks against civilians have continued in Gurage zone.

Kidnappings and an assassination in Oromia and Amhara regions

On 2 July, suspected militants from the Oromo Liberation Army — referred to by the government as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)-Shane — kidnapped 100 university students near Gebre Guracha town in North Shewa zone, Oromia, as they traveled by bus along the A3 highway from Debre Markos University in Amhara region toward the capital, Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), supported by Oromia state police and Kebele militia, clashed with militants in an attempt to free the kidnapped students, some of whom managed to escape. 

US Ambassador Ervin Massinga issued a statement a few days later condemning the attack and other kidnapping incidents.¹Reuters, ‘Over 100 people kidnapped for ransom in Ethiopia last week, US envoy says,’ 8 July 2024 Kidnapping and violence targeting communal leaders and civilians have become a major issue in Oromia region over the past year (for more, see the EPO Weekly: 14-20 October 2023 and EPO Weekly: 21-27 October 2023)²Fred Harter, ‘This is a pandemic’: Ethiopia’s Oromia region gripped by surge in kidnappings,’ The Guardian, 23 January 2024, and incidents are particularly common in areas of North Shewa zone (Oromia region) that border Oromia and Amhara regions. In June 2023, also in Oromia region’s North Shewa zone, a number of kidnappings of truck drivers from Amhara region sparked demonstrations in Amhara region.

Meanwhile, in the Oromia Special zone in Amhara region, suspected OLA/OLF-Shane forces assassinated the head of the Oromia Special Zone Administration in Kemise town. Militants associated with OLA/OLF-Shane in the Oromia Special zone have often clashed with government forces or Fano militias in the area, however, targeting of the Oromo administration of the zone is rare (for background information see the North Shewa and the Oromia Special zone conflict page).

More internally displaced people return to their homes in Tigray region

In Tigray region, ethnic Tigrayans who were internally displaced during the northern Ethiopia conflict continue to return to disputed territories. Last week, nearly 5,000 people returned to Tselemti woreda in North Western Tigray zone.³Addis Standard, ‘Ethiopia: Nearly 5,000 internally displaced persons return to North western Tigray,’ 6 July 2024 The disputed territories have been controlled by Amhara region since shortly after the northern Ethiopia conflict began. The internally displaced people returned after the Amhara administration was removed from Tselemti woreda.

Since February, clashes have frequently erupted between armed militias from both Tigray and Amhara regions in Southern Tigray zone — one of the disputed territories. In June, Tigray forces began to mobilize to Tselemti woreda but withdrew after a consultation with ENDF. In a parliamentary session on 4 July, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed highlighted the challenges in returning internally displaced people to the disputed territories, but he expressed his confidence in the Interim Administration of Tigray to address them.⁴Addis Standard, ‘News: “We don’t commit mass killings” – PM Abiy Ahmed denies accusations of mass killings by gov’t forces,’ 4 July 2024 

While the peaceful return of displaced people to the disputed areas of Tselemti is a positive sign, the return of Tigrayan displaced people to the areas of Western Tigray zone under the Amhara-led administration is likely to be a much more difficult endeavor. At the outset of the northern Ethiopia conflict, more than 600 ethnic Amhara were killed by the Tigrayan youth group Samri in a small area of Western Tigray called Maikadra. Armed militias associated with the Amhara administration in Western Tigray zone are linked to the Welkait Amhara Identity Question Committee⁵In 2015, Amhara activists organized the Welkait Amhara Identity Question Committee, which gained traction and led protests from 2015 to 2018 against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front-led government. The committee seeks to represent the interests of ethnic Amhara residing in the contested territories administered by authorities from Tigray region. and have opposed government proposals for a referendum solution to resolve the status of Western Tigray zone.⁶Iyob Tikuye, ‘It was requested that non-natives of the area should not be included in the referendum on the question of boundaries and identity for Raya,’ The Ethiopian Reporter, 1 January 2023 

Deadly attack in Central Ethiopia region

An unidentified armed group reportedly killed four people and injured four others at Futo in Mareko Liyu woreda in Gurage zone, Central Ethiopia region, on 2 July. The attack was related to the unsettled dispute between Meskan and Mareko ethnic groups over the ownership of nine kebeles in the zone. On 12 June, 88 people were arrested in the Mesken Special woreda over claims they took part in the violent conflict. This arrest followed an ethnic-based attack in the Mareko woreda on 8 June that reportedly killed at least four people.