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An insurgent group in Ethiopia’s most populous province carried out a string of attacks around last week’s election that killed multiple people, witnesses told AFP on Saturday.
The government confirmed the attacks in a statement and blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group operating in the country’s most populous region of Oromia, but did not say how many were killed or wounded.
The OLA, designated a “terrorist organisation” by the government, had threatened to disrupt the parliamentary elections on June 1.
Two witnesses in the Arsi zone of the region said they personally knew 11 people who had been killed when OLA militants attacked their village of Eleta Chefa.
A medical worker told AFP he had counted 56 dead and 50 wounded from attacks on multiple localities between May 31 and June 3.
Travel to conflict zones is heavily restricted, and the government provides limited information, so AFP is unable to verify the numbers.
The militants “used their rifles to hunt and kill residents. I was lucky to survive the attack,” one of the witnesses in Eleta Chefa told AFP.
He said they targeted Orthodox Christians, perceived as aligned with the federal government, as well as Muslims who tried to protect them.
“We’ve run for our lives, including the elderly and children; I estimate up to 3,000 residents have escaped the area, including me,” the witness said.
The village was attacked twice, on May 31 and June 1, another witness added, estimating that “several thousand” militants took part.
“My house was completely burned in the attack while my harvest and livestock were also completely looted,” he said, adding that he had already been displaced for a year following a similar attack in August 2024.
The medical worker said the death toll was likely to rise.
“Many are still displaced and scattered in forests, hiding in churches and living with relatives,” he said.
He treated patients with wounds from “rifle bullets, heavy machine guns, and some deaths by sharp objects such as knives and machetes.”
The office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed offered its condolences over the attacks in a statement on Friday.
The OLA released a statement on X on Thursday, accusing the government of having “actively ignited and abetted communal violence”.
Results from Monday’s election have yet to be released, but Abiy’s Prosperity Party is expected to win another landslide victory.
Estimated at a few thousand men in 2018, the OLA’s ranks have grown significantly in recent years.
The group is not considered a serious threat to the federal government, but has carried out multiple deadly attacks over the years.
