Ethiopia Weekly Update (17 December 2024)

Situation summary

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) — referred to by the government as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)-Shane — killed the head of Sululta woreda police and two Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) soldiers and injured the head of Sululta woreda ruling party, the Prosperity Party, in Sheger city, Oromia. In Amhara region, Fano militias announced a road closure across several zones amid ongoing clashes with security forces.

OLA/OLF-Shane militants kill Sululta police chief in the wake of the peace agreement

Members of the OLA/OLF-Shane faction led by Sanyi Nagasa have continued to enter ‘rehabilitation centers’ in the Oromia region, following a peace agreement signed on 1 December between the Oromia regional government and Sanyi Nagasa. Last week, an unspecified number of OLA/OLF-Shane fighters hailing from West Wollega, North Shewa, and South West Shewa zones entered the facilities. Although Sanyi Nagasa was the central zone commander of the OLA/OLF-Shane, fighters from outside the central zone command, such as those from West Wollega, are also entering the rehabilitation centers. 

Fighters enter the facilities, which aim to reintegrate them into society, after a representative or local elder contacts local officials to indicate the militants’ interest in the call for peace. Subsequently, the local officials, together with the local security forces and members of the ENDF, meet the group of fighters at a designated location. Many fighters have used this process in the wake of the peace agreement. The process has generally been peaceful,  with a notable exception on 10 December, when OLA/OLF-Shane and security forces clashed around Erob Gebeya area near Chancho town in Sululta woreda, Sheger city. Reportedly, woreda officials and Prosperity Party leaders traveled to the area, escorted by government security forces, to welcome OLA/OLF-Shane members who had indicated their willingness to accept the peace agreement. But when they arrived, OLA/OLF-Shane militants met them with gunfire, killing the head of Sululta woreda police and two ENDF soldiers and injuring the Sululta woreda Prosperity Party head. An OLA/OLF-Shane official took responsibility for the killings but framed the incident as a clash with security forces who had mobilized to the area to disarm the militants.¹Seyum Getu, Mantegaftot Sileshi and Yohanes Gebre-Egziabher, ‘Sululta: The threat of a new attack by OLF-OLA,’ 2 December 2024

No other armed clashes between the OLA/OLF-Shane and security forces were reported last week, but violent incidents involving Fano militias, including armed clashes and violence against civilians, were recorded in Horo Guduru Wollega and East Wollega zones. In areas of western Oromia, particularly in East, West, and Horo Guduru Wollega zones, ethnic Amharas who had settled in villages south of the Amhara-Oromo regional border during the 1970s and 1980s have occasionally clashed with the Oromo inhabitants over land and resources. These clashes have worsened significantly since the OLA/OLF-Shane began to clash with the government in 2019 (for more information, see the EPO’s Western Oromia Conflict page). In April 2023, patterns of violence involving the OLA/OLF-Shane shifted to the east, and the amount of political violence in the western areas of Oromia region lessened (for more information on the 2024 political violence trend in Ethiopia, see our latest infographic, Unrest in Amhara and Oromia threatens Ethiopia’s stability).

Road closures in Amhara region amid continued armed clashes

On 9 December, representatives of various Fano militias announced road closures in East Gojam, West Gojam, North Wello, and South Wello²Isayas Gelaw, Mantegaftot Seleshi, and Yohanes Gebre Egziabeher, ‘Dessie Alamata road closed by order of Fano; Residents say it has caused pressure on our lives,’ 11 December 2024 zones, impacting civilians’ daily activities. According to a representative of Gojam Fano militias, the road closures were implemented to safeguard civilians from ongoing armed conflicts with government security forces.³Azeb Tadese and Shewaye Legese, ‘World news, 16 December 2024 Monday,’ 16 December 2024 Last week, armed clashes were reported in Awi, North Shewa, East Gojam, North Wello, West Gondar, South Gondar, and West Gojam zones. The road closures in Gojam zones were lifted on 17 December.⁴Azeb Tadese and Shewaye Legese, ‘World news, 16 December 2024 Monday,’ 16 December 2024 The main road connecting Dessie, the administrative hub of South Wello, to Addis Ababa was opened on 11 December.⁵Isayas Gelaw, Mantegaftot Seleshi, and Yohanes Gebre Egziabeher, ‘Dessie Alamata road closed by order of Fano; Residents say it has caused pressure on our lives,’ 11 December 2024 The last time Fano militias announced such road closures was on 3 October after the government announced another round of operations against the group. The roads were reopened a week later.