Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday rejected negligence accusations against his government and the security forces following a series of massacre in the western part of the country, reported The Africa News.
Hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Amhara, were brutally killed in recent weeks in two separate attacks in western Oromia, the country’s most populous region.
When Ethiopian lawmakers asked about the recent bloodshed, Abiy praised the security forces and said the government was working hard to protect civilians.
“The killings that have happened in Ethiopia should not be considered – as some are describing — to be due to negligence, that it is because the government didn’t do its job, or that government does not uphold its responsibility,” he said. “This government is trying to protect its citizens 24 hours a day.”
The Ethiopian prime minister said the lawmakers were dwelling on the lives lost instead of those saved. He called on the parliament to recognise the honour and bravery of the country’s troops.
Abiy said that the armed forces personnel are also are sacrificing their lives daily.
The government has blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the massacres on June 18 and July 4 of mostly ethnic Amhara in Qellem Wollega and West Wollega. The rebel group has denied the accusations.
Abiy said that the OLA could be wiped off by boosting military efforts to degrade the militants, who have been active in the Oromia region since 2018. The militant group is classified as a terrorist organisation by Ethiopian authorities.
The African Union Commission has also called for an investigation into the killings and urged the Ethiopian government to ensure the protection of all civilians by preventing such atrocities in future.
On Wednesday, Ethiopian lawmakers announced a committee to investigate inhumane acts against civilians in the country. Last month, about 340 people were killed in the same region in one of the deadliest incidents reported in Ethiopia.
