In the midst of the army’s ongoing conflict with militias in another province, Amhara, residents and opposition organisations in Ethiopia‘s largest region, Oromia, have accused government troops of killing numerous people.
At least 10 civilians, including four family members, were slain by government forces in West Shoa, according to family members of victims who spoke to the BBC’s Afaan Oromoo service.
The regional government has not responded to the BBC’s attempts to contact them for comment.
Ararsa Yadesa, a local, claimed that two farm labourers and four members of his family perished in a single occurrence.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a large armed organisation, is active there. However, Mr. Ararsa asserted that prior to the incident, there had not been any combat between OLA and government soldiers.
A university student stated that in a different incident, only he was able to survive after being shot at by security personnel while being hauled out of his hamlet together with three other young people.
Both the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), two opposition organisations, have charged the West Shoa government with extrajudicial murders, mass arrests, and human rights violations.
According to the groups, 11 people died.
The administration is currently facing fierce resistance from armed groups in the nation’s second-largest Amhara region.
The main cities in Amhara have managed to operate in a somewhat regular manner following last week’s intense urban fighting, while militias have continued to hold sway over the area’s smaller towns.