2022 North Shewa clashes

Last updated
2022 North Shewa clashes
Part of OLA insurgency
Date29 March – 19 April 2022
Location
North Shewa, Oromia Zone, Amhara Region and Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Flag of Ethiopia (Blank).svg Fano Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front.svg Oromo Liberation Army

Flag of Ethiopia.svg ENDF

Casualties and losses
Unknown 28+ killed
15+ injured		 3 killed
38+ civilians killed, 82+ injured
3,000 displaced

The 2022 North Shewaclashes were a series of clashes that broke out between ethnic Amhara Fano militiamen, the Oromo Liberation Army, and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces in the North Shewa zone in the Oromia region and the Oromia Zone in the Amhara region, which resulted in dozens of people killed and thousands displaced.

Contents

Background

The Oromia Zone in the Amhara region was created in the 1990s after pressure on the Ethiopian government by Oromo rights groups, who were a majority in the small part of Amhara region bordering Oromia. [1] In the North Shewa Zone of Oromia, where Amharas are a sizeable minority, conflict has been rife across the two sides between Oromo and Amhara fighting for regional dominance. [2] During the Tigray War, Fano developed as an Amhara militia aiding the Ethiopian government against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, and claiming historical Tigrayan and Amhara lands as Amhara. [3] Tensions between the two groups first developed in 2018, after Amhara discontent in believing the Oromo-led Prosperity Party was not adequately supporting Amhara rights in North Shewa. [4] In 2021, four clashes were reported in Oromia Zone between Fano and the Oromo Liberation Army, colloquially known as OLF-Shene. [3] Large bouts of violence occurred in Ataye between the OLA and Amhara forces.

Conflict

The conflict began on 29 March, when alleged Fano militants attacked Oromo militants and policemen in the Minjar Shenkora district. [5] [6] The attackers then made their way through the towns of Korke and Awra Godana, which are disputed between North Shewa and East Shewa in Oromia. [4] In the attacks, 28 Oromo militants were killed, and 15 were injured. [7] The Korke and Awera Godana areas were then put under Ethiopian government control. [8] Amhara regional authorities and rights groups claimed that the Minjar Shenkora ambush occurred after OLA militants shot and killed an Ethiopian police officer. [9] The Amhara Association of America also accused OLA of capturing Awra Godana. [10] The conflict was later resolved following mediation between local Amhara and Oromo leaders. [11]

The second bout of clashes broke out on 9 April on the borders of Oromia Special Zone and North Shewa. [12] While both sides traded blame for who initiated the attacks, fighting occurred in the villages of Wesen Kurkur, Mute Facha, and Tikure Wadawo in Jilye Tumuga district of the Oromia Zone. [2] In North Shewa Zone of the Amhara region, fighting occurred in Zembo, Addis Alem, and Negoso in the Efratana Gidem district and Kewet in Menze Mama Midir district. [2] 20 people were killed and 48 were injured as a result of the fighting. [2] The clashes didn't end until April 12, and by then, 3,000 residents had been displaced and 125 houses had been burned. [13] The village of Molele in Zembo kebele suffered the worst damage, and during operations by the Ethiopian Army (ENDF) to suppress the clashes and restore control over the road leading to Addis Ababa, three Amhara Special Forces soldiers were killed. [11] The Efratana Gidem district administrator accused the OLA, but the Jilye Tumuga district administrator accused Fano for the attacks. [11]

On 18 April, fighting broke out near Shewa Robit and Wesen Kurkur, after Fano militants marched into the town. Ethnic Oromo residents requested support from the Ethiopian military (ENDF) while Fano fighters assumed the ENDF reinforcements would support them. Battles broke out between the ENDF and Fano. [14] Many residents fled to the cities of Debre Birhan and Debre Sina. While the clashes ended on April 19, bodies were still being discovered in rural areas near Shewa Robit. [14] [15] The provisional death toll was 10 killed, 34 injured. [14]

Ethiopian soldiers massacred eight civilians in Daye Wilincho on 23 April, for unknown reasons. [16] Several other civilians were shot, killed, or arrested for being suspected OLA militants by Ethiopian soldiers and Oromia Special Forces. [16] By that point, fighting between Fano, the OLF-Shene, and the ENDF had ceased.

Related Research Articles

Shewa Robit also known as Robi, Shah Robit, Shoa Robit or Robit is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of 10°00′N39°54′E with an elevation of 1280 meters above sea level. Shewa Robit holds its market on Tuesdays. Ethiopia's largest prison is in this town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromo conflict</span> Armed civil conflict in Ethiopia

The Oromo conflict or Oromia conflict is a protracted conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ethiopian government. The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight the Ethiopian Empire to liberate the Oromo people and establish an independent state of Oromia. The conflict began in 1973, when Oromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). These groups formed in response to prejudice against the Oromo people during the Haile Selassie and Derg era, when their language was banned from public administration, courts, church and schools, and the stereotype of Oromo people as a hindrance to expanding Ethiopian national identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fano (militia)</span> Amhara youth militia in Ethiopia

Fano is an ethno-nationalist Amhara militia and former protest movement. It has engaged in violent clashes throughout Ethiopia in the name of neutralizing perceived threats to the Amhara people. Fano has absorbed many units and personnel of the Amhara Regional Special Forces that did not integrate into the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). Fano militias have been involved in armed conflicts with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), and the ENDF. They have also clashed with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the border of Ethiopia and Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)</span> Episode of intrastate conflicts during Abiy Ahmeds administration

The ongoing Ethiopian civil conflict began with the 2018 dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (ERPDF), an ethnic federalist, dominant party political coalition. After the 20-year border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a decade of internal tensions, two years of protests, and a state of emergency, Hailemariam Desalegn resigned on 15 February 2018 as prime minister and EPRDF chairman, and there were hopes of peace under his successor Abiy Ahmed. However, war broke out in the Tigray Region, with resurgent regional and ethnic factional attacks throughout Ethiopia. The civil wars caused substantial human rights violations, war crimes, and extrajudicial killings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kemise</span> Town in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Kemise is a town and administrative seat of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Kemise is 224 kilometres (139 mi) northeast of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa and has a latitude and longitude of 10°43′N39°52′E with an elevation of 1424 meters above sea level. It was part of the former Chaffa Gola Dewerahmedo district and is now surrounded by the Dawa Chaffa district.

On 21 March 2021, 12 ethnic Oromo militants were killed while in an ambulance riding through the town of Shewa Robit. Fano militia has been suspected as a perpetrator of an attack.

The 2021 Ataye clashes were two episodes of large-scale ethnic violence killing hundreds in and around the Ethiopian town of Ataye, leading to nearly a quarter of the town being destroyed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OLA insurgency</span> Internal conflict in Ethiopia since 2018

The OLA insurgency is an armed conflict between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which split from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 2018, and the Ethiopian government, continuing in the context of the long-term Oromo conflict, typically dated to have started with the formation of the Oromo Liberation Front in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TDF–OLA joint offensive</span> 2021 military campaign into Ethiopia as part of the Tigray War

The TDF–OLA joint offensive was a rebel offensive in the Tigray War and the OLA insurgency starting in late October 2021 launched by a joint rebel coalition of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and government. The TDF and OLA took control of several towns south of the Amhara Region in the direction of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in late October and early November. Claims of war crimes included that of the TDF extrajudicially executing 100 youths in Kombolcha, according to deral authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Amhara people</span>

Since the 1990s, the Amhara people of Ethiopia have been subject to ethnic violence, including massacres by Tigrayan, Oromo and Gumuz ethnic groups among others, which some have characterized as a genocide. Large-scale killings and grave human rights violations followed the implementation of the ethnic-federalist system in the country. In most of the cases, the mass murders were silent with perpetrators from various ethno-militant groups—from TPLF/TDF, OLF–OLA, and Gumuz armed groups.

On 18 June 2022, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) was accused of massacring over 500 Amhara civilians in the Gimbi county of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Witnesses said that the OLA intentionally targeted ethnic Amhara people. This attack is part of a series of Amhara massacres that occurred in 2022.

The Amhara Association of America (AAA) (Amharic: የዐማራ ማህበር በአሜሪካ) is a non-profit Amhara nationalist organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on advocating for the human rights of the Amhara people in Ethiopia.

On July 4, 2022, alleged Oromo Liberation Army militants killed hundreds of civilians in Kelam Welega Zone, Oromia in Ethiopia. The massacre sparked condemnation from Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, and was the second mass killing in Oromia region after the Gimbi massacre just a week prior. Qelem is also known as Kellem.

Events in the year 2023 in Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Amhara</span> Armed conflict in Amhara Region, Ethiopia since 2023

The War in Amhara is an armed conflict and insurgency in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia that began in April 2023 between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian government. The conflict started after the government attempted to dissolve the Amhara Special Forces and other regional forces to "promote national unity." This move led to protests and armed resistance by local forces under Fano.

The following is a list of events predicted and scheduled to take place in the year 2024 in Ethiopia.

In September 2024, the Fano militia started an offensive in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The offensive resulted in the capture of several key cities and strategic areas, including the city of Debark and the Ethiopian-Sudanese border town of Metemma. The offensive is part of the ongoing War in Amhara, a conflict that began in April 2023 between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian government.

The Gida Kiremu massacres refers to a series of attacks between 18 and 20 August 2021 when the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) targeted Amhara civilians in Gida Kiremu, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, killing over 210. The attack on 18 August killed 150 Amhara civilians, and reprisal attacks by Amhara militias killed 60 mostly-Oromo civilians the day after.

During the War in Amhara, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) wields drone operation against Fano militia and civilian population that resulted in widespread destruction, civilian causalities and humanitarian crisis. Especially since October 2024, drone strikes were imminent across Amhara region notably the South Mecha woreda of the North Gojjam Zone following ENDF counteroffensive. The following list is events of drone attack used during the entire of the war.

References

  1. ↑ Vaughan, Sarah (July 2003). "Ethnicity and Power in Ethiopia".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ethiopia Peace Observatory Weekly: 16-22 April 2022 [EN/AM] - Ethiopia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  3. 1 2 helina (2022-04-19). "EPO Weekly: 9-15 April 2022". Ethiopia Peace Observatory. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  4. 1 2 helina (2022-04-06). "EPO Weekly: 26 March-1 April 2022". Ethiopia Peace Observatory. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  5. ↑ "News: Amhara, Oromo states scramble with conflicting accounts after armed men gunned down 26 Oromia militiamen, police". Addis Standard. March 31, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ "News: Oromia State govt warns 'extremist forces operating in the name of Amhara', infiltrating region and committing 'disgusting acts'". Addis Standard. April 4, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Ambush on militia in Ethiopia's Oromiya region kills 26". Reuters. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  8. ↑ "በምስራቅ ሸዋ ዞን ግጭትና ግድያ – DW – 22 መጋቢት 2014". dw.com (in Amharic). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  9. ↑ Amhara Communications (March 31, 2022). "በምንጃር ሸንኮራ ወረዳ አሞራ ቤት አውራ ጎዳና ንዑስ ቀበሌ ላይ ጉዳት ያደረሱ ታጣቂዎችን ተጠያቂ ለማድረግ የሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን እና የምሥራቅ ሽዋ ዞን እየሠሩ እንደኾነ ተገለጸ፡፡ መጋቢት 22/2014 ዓ.ም (አማራ ኮሚዩኒኬሽን) በአማራ ክልል ሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን ምንጃር ሸንኮራ ወረዳ አሞራ ቤት አውራ ጎዳና ንዑስ ቀበሌ ላይ የተፈጠረውን የጸጥታ ችግር አስመልክቶ የሰሜን ሸዋ ዞን አሥተዳዳሪ ታደሰ ገብረጻዲቅ ከአሚኮ ጋር ቆይታ አድርገዋል፡፡". Facebook. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  10. ↑ "1/ AAA strongly condemns the recent inflammatory statement by the Oromia Regional State Government of @ShimelisAbdisa which is a coverup & meager attempt at deflecting the atrocities of Oromia Regional Forces, which according to @hrcoethio used government vehicles in their..." X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  11. 1 2 3 "ከሰሞኑ በሰሜን ሸዋ ለተከሰተው ግጭት የየአካባቢው ባለስልጣናት ሸኔ እና ፋኖን ተጠያቂ አደረጉ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  12. ↑ "Ethiopia Peace Observatory Weekly: 16-22 April 2022 [EN/AM] - Ethiopia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  13. ↑ "የሰሜን ሸዋና የኦሮሚያ ዞኖች ግጭት – DW – 13 ሚያዝያ 2014". dw.com (in Amharic). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  14. 1 2 3 "News analysis: Conflict resurfaces in Oromo Special Zone, North Shewa zones of Amhara region". Addis Standard. April 19, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  15. ↑ Account (2022-04-20). "Ethiopia : Reported fighting in Ephrata Gidim area of North Shoa". Borkena Ethiopian News. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  16. 1 2 helina (2022-05-11). "EPO Weekly: 23 April-6 May 2022". Ethiopia Peace Observatory. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
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