In the shadow of the national and regional elections and behind the smokescreen of the Tigray conflict, Amharas are victims of repeated massacres in total silence and impunity, several Amharas said at a press conference held on 16 June at the Press Club in Brussels.
Quite a number of such incidents already took place well before the war between the federal and the Tigray regional governments started but failed to sufficiently mobilize the international community. Examples:
In November 2019, 18 Amhara students – 14 young women and 4 young men – from Dembi Dollo University in Kelam Wellega Zone of the Oromia Region were abducted by unidentified people as they fled by bus a fatal ethnic-based attack on Amhara university students. They’re still missing, and we can fear the worst. This stoked anger at the federal government over its inaction and lack of transparency.
Ethnic violence including rape then affected more than 20 other university campuses in 2019 in the Oromia region and continued in 2020 prompting an estimated 35,000 students to flee.
In early November 2020, at least 100 people from the Amhara ethnic group were killed in an attack by suspected members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) group.
The attack on Gawa Qanqa village in Guliso District of West Wellega Zone took place just a day after Ethiopian Defense Forces troops surprisingly, unexpectedly & without explanation withdrew from the area. This abrupt withdrawal has raised several questions that have remained unanswered by the government. Witnesses said dozens of men, women and children were killed, property looted and what the militants could not carry away, was set on fire.
In the last few months, a spate of deadly attacks particularly targeted civilians of ethnic Amharas.
On 25 February 2021, at least 12 people, including a seven-year-old child, were hacked to death in two particularly brutal attacks in the villages of Boka and Nechlu, in the eastern part of Oromia, multiple sources told Al Jazeera.
On 6 and 9 March, 42 people were killed in two separate attacks that targeted Amhara civilians in Oromia’s Horo Guduru Wellega zone, according to Ethiopian state media.
On 31 March, gunmen killed at least 30 civilians in an attack on a village in the West Wellega Zone of Oromia. The victims were ethnic Amharas. A resident of the Babo-Gembel district where the attack took place told AFP news agency that gunmen arrived after 9pm, forced residents to gather outside in a group and shot them dead. The place had no security cover from government security forces at the time.
On 4 April, suspected OLF militias killed more than 17 Amharas in two separate attacks in the Oromia region.
On 16 April, Ataye and surrounding towns in the Amhara Region were destroyed resulting in 300 deaths and 256,000 people becoming homeless.
On 30 April, an armed group identified as the OLA (Oromo Liberation Army) attacked a transport bus traveling from Bure to Nekemte. The attackers rerouted the bus towards the Abay river gorge, took the passengers out and killed 15 of them.
Tewodrose Tirfe, chairman of the Amhara Association of America based in Washington DC, said “in the month of March well over 300 Amharas, including women and children, have been massacred by the OLA”. He also accused the government of being silent and inactive on killings.
Amhara victims frequently testify the massacres on fighters belonging to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and regional special forces that are well armed and coordinated.
Societal violence is now undoubtedly on the rise. President of the Genocide Prevention in Ethiopia (GPE) Dr. Senait Senay says, “From 2 September 2020 to May 2021 alone, 2024 ethnic Amharas were targeted and horrifically killed and 2 million displaced in different regions of Ethiopia”, mainly in the Benishangul-Gumuz & Oromia regions. The list also includes over 1000 ethnic Amharas that were murdered in Maikadra by a retreating pro-TPLF militia, a few days after the war between the federal government of Ethiopia and the regional Tigrayan forces broke out, as Amnesty International has reported.
The successive federal governments of Ethiopia since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) assumed power in 1991, Ethiopia was transformed to nine new regional states designed according to Article 46 of the 1995 constitution, but the borders of the new regional states crisscrossed former administrative delineations and were simply imposed without popular consent through a referendum or election. The result was Ethiopian citizens were ethnically identified on government issued residence IDs.
The elections in Ethiopia will not be held in 102 of the 547 constituencies, including the 38 constituencies of Tigray due to war, but also in parts of Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia and Amhara regions, due to the massacres and massive displacement of Amharas.
In the meantime, the EU has withdrawn its Electoral Observation Mission accusing the Ethiopian authorities of not giving assurances on the independence of the mission. After the election, the EU should increase the implementation of its peace-making policies & humanitarian aid in Ethiopia and urge the “new federal government” to address the structural sources of the targeted ethnic attacks, the Amharas said at the Press Club in Brussels.
See press conference here:
Ethnic Amharas were Selectively Slaughtered with Machetes, Axes and Knives!Posted on Apr 6, 2021Happened on Nov 9, 2020
Thank you so much Mr Fautré.
My words don’t have enough wait to being to thank you – The European Times. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for reporting the truth and being a voice for the innocent Amharas being slaughter by OromoExtremist – OLA/OLF and Gumuz militia. Thank You So Much Willy Fautre – you will always have a special heart in Amhara people and in all Ethiopians who care about the dignity of human lives. At the heart of Ethiopian politics is identity politics – PM Abiy Ahmed is an Oromo extremist who is working to establish a Cushitic empire, and he’s displacing what he considers as Semitic Amharic speaking Amharas from Oromia and Metekel region. Close to 2 million Amharas have been internally displaced, and more than 4000 have been killed. PM Abiy Ahmed pretends to act like a peacemaker in an ethnically divided country, but he’s the actual perpetrator. At every innocent killings, and including top Amhara generals like: Asaminew Tiseqe and former regional president – Dr. Ambachew, were all planned/executed/ and killed by Abiy Ahmed Ali. Abiy Amed Ali along with Adergachew Tiseqe and Dr. Berhanu Nega are also destroying Tigray and Tigreans. These leaders believe that Ethiopian power center should move from the hands of Tigreans and Amharas down south to Oromos/Gurages/ and other ethnic Ethiopians, although this may seem noble in idea, they doing it by killing and fragmenting innocent Tigreans and also killing innocent Amharas. The evil of Ethiopian politics is perpetrated by Abiy Ahmed Ali Prosperity Party, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Andergachew Tiseqe, OromoExtremist, and Gumuz militia.
thankyou….
Thank you for being voice to the voiceless Amhara people. Thousands have been killed Oromia, Maikadra, Metekel and Guraferda just because of their identity. Displaced Amharas are still suffering without any help from the government. Their houses and properties were looted and burned down and they are left with nothing. Those who committed the massacre must held responsible. We need justice!
I thank all of you for your relentless efforts to attract the attention of the genocide campaign against the people of Amhara. The government-backed OLF must be held accountable for its atrocities against the Amhara people. Displaced people need to be provided with food and shelter and returned to their homes, as well as compensation for their suffering, abuse and death.
Thank you for your voice for voiceless!
Thank you for being voice for victims.
Amhara people are endangered by government supported military forces and political groups. Severe abuses of human rights; illegal grabing & looting of ptoperties upto total demolishing of towns; mass displacements, mass killings, ethnic cleansing and genocide are being committed on them based on their religeous & tribal identity symbolically characterized as ” Neftegna”
The world is not informed of this horrific tragedy on Amhara people. Besides on open shooting genocide on Amhara people, Amharas are nationally systematically discriminated and targeted. One of the discrimination is made through ethiopian media outlets which deliberately discriminates Amhara, they usually do not recognise Amharas. They, if must , Adress amharas as “ethiopians” to create ambiguity among audiences so that amharas will be left unidentified. in addition to that Amharas are not represented in the outside world who can tell their story. Their story is misguided to international medias and reversed
Dear Willy Fautre, God bless you for reporting the silent genocide on Amhara people in Ethiopia while the world is ignoring this silent and active genocide of Ethnic Amharas in Ethiopia
more than 1000 were also killed in Maikadra by TPLF simply because they are Amhara
Genocide againsr Amhara has clear intent, started since tigray people liberation front wrote its anti Amhara manifesto, enabled with the so called constitution and ethnic based feseralism. When TPLF led EPRDF in power, 2.4 million Amhara were lost, appeoved by the paeliament. It was numerical genocide deliberately done by Meles led government. All budget since then cut for tese millions pwople, no development, no health care, no education, no vaccine for 14 years. We as Amhara understand this number is deducted from the actual numerical genocide. According to estimates about 5 to 6 million Amharas are deducted by the government. Amhara was also the victims of NON STOP genocide in Oromo, Sourhern, B/Gumuz, Tigray regions mainly Wolkiyte, Raya, Harar area, Arsi, Shashemene, Guraferda, Wellega, Metekel, Ataye, Addis Ababa and towns near by.
We loudly shout to the world to know this hiddenong term and non stop government led genocide. And still going on. Stop Amhara genocide.
Thank you so much The European time for being a voice to the Amhara people. The atrocities happening on Amhara people are non stop and started from the previous government. The previous government TPLF(Tigrai people liberation front), who ruled the country for the past three decades, created the platform of genocide against Amhara in a systematic way. They created a false narratives to mobilize their people based on hatred towards Amhara and ititiated other ethnic groups too. The TPLF itself admitted in its parliamentary meeting few years back that 2.5 million Amharas are disappeared( the number of Amhara people reduced by 2.5 m during the national cencus). The genocide is multifaceted; they even disimprignate women. The current regime continued the platform and prepared hundreds of thousands armed groups whom he claims he has no control on them. However, the prime minister Abiy himself was the one who brought them from where they were a rebel during TPLF regime decriminalized from the terrorism list . After Abiy brought them with their Arm in the name of National integrity and gave them a camp in wollega western Ethiopia, they also got full logistic to publicly recruite hundres of thousands new members. Their sniper refles only seen in the hands of the prime minister’s republican guards only. Any international research group can confirm by directly going to Ethiopia and observe what’s happening. They kill anyone as long as the ethnicity is from Amhara. Children, women, pregnant women, elderly and those who couldn’t escape are the most victims. The survivors are also suffering with life threatening starvation. The worst of all, the international community knows little to no about the active #state #sponsored genocide against the Amhara people in Ethiopia.