Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Africa Horn

Kenya Police Target Ethiopia's OLA Rebel Group

2025-02-05

[Garowe] Police in Kenya have launched a security operation targeting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Marsabit and Isiolo counties, following a series of insecurity incidents across the common border with Æthiopia, triggered by the group.

This operation aims to dismantle the group's criminal activities, which pose a significant threat to Kenya's national security, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said. The group takes advantage of cultural ties between the Oromo and Borana of Kenya.

OLA, the police boss said, is notorious for facilitating terrorism through collaboration with al-Shabaab

... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
, trafficking illegal arms and narcotics, engaging in human smuggling, and dealing in contraband goods.

Additionally, the group has been involved in cross-border incursions, illegal mining, instigating tribal conflicts, and kidnapping for ransom, the security boss added in a statement that comes ahead of President William Ruto's trip to northern Kenya.

"The NPS urges residents to remain calm, cooperate with security officers, and continue with their daily activities as law enforcement works to restore peace and safeguard the lives and property of all Kenyans," Kanja said.

In recent months, there has been relative stability in the country due to increased surveillance by security teams, with the al-Shabaab group minimizing activities within the northeastern region. The OLA is said to be causing a significant threat in northern regions.

This achievement is the result of a comprehensive and strategic counterterrorism approach spearheaded by the government. Key initiatives include the deployment of the elite Special Operations Group (SOG) under the National Intelligence Service (NIS), enhanced intelligence coordination, and reinforced border security.

Once challenged regions such as Mandera, Garissa, and Lamu now enjoy a renewed sense of peace and stability, a testament to the government’s commitment to securing the nation. Kenya’s leadership in counterterrorism and resilience has positioned it as a regional benchmark for security excellence.

Link

Arabia

Violent clashes erupt in Aden among African migrant groups

2024-08-13

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The al-Mansoura area in the city of Aden, which is under the control of the Saudi-led coalition, witnessed last night ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful festivities among African ~~migrants~~ colonists groups until the early hours of Sunday.

Media sources reported that festivities broke out on Saturday, between African Oromo im~~migrants~~ colonists with hands, stones, and the use of sticks and iron until late hours of the night without intervention by the factions affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The STC factions were content to watch the festivities between the Oromo im~~migrants~~ colonists, who became blocs, and the confrontations between them extended to al-Mansoura Palace Square, according to the sources.

Tensions still exist between the Oromoa, which reflects the state of security chaos that Aden has reached under the control of factions loyal to the UAE.

The sources stated that the festivities erupted when three Oromo im~~migrants~~ colonists attacked an immigrant who was sleeping by throwing stones at him and hitting his head with the remains of cement blocks, and he sought the help of others in response to the attack before the fight developed to include dozens of them in central al-Mansoura.

In September last year, Aden witnessed a clash between two Æthiopian ethnic groups, the Oromoa and Amhara, which spread to restive Lahj
... a Yemeni governate located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the stomping grounds on the southern secessionist al-Harak movement
province, leaving two dead and dozens maimed.

Link

Africa Horn

Suspected Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia leaves 7 Ethnic Oromos dead

2024-02-12

05/02/2024
[ShabelleMedia] An overnight attack in the border town of Beled-Hawo within the Gedo region has left at least seven Ethnic Oromos dead while six others were maimed.

The local security forces launched an investigation into the suspected al-Shabaab

... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
raid that targeted a village predominantly inhabited by people from the Oromo ethnic community.

The maimed have been admitted to the main city hospital for treatment. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault which took place in the border town.

The situation was tense on Monday morning as police were on a mission to arrest the culprits of the attack and their co-plotters who were mixing with the local population.

Link

Africa Horn

Ethiopia: more than 50 civilians killed in November attacks

2023-12-07

[AFRICANEWS] More than 50 non-combatants were killed in attacks in Æthiopia in November, denounced the Æthiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on Wednesday, two weeks after negotiations between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) ended without agreement.

Classified as a "terrorist organization" by Addis Ababa, the OLA has been fighting the Æthiopian authorities since its split with the historic Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 2018, when the latter renounced armed struggle that year when current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power.

According to the EHRC, a statutorily independent public institution, OLF fighters killed 17 people and burned villages in Benishangul-Gumuz, northwest Æthiopia.

The EHRC also claimed that a further 30 people were killed in the Arsi zone of Oromia in a series of attacks by person or persons unknown, the victims including several members of the same family.

"The assailants killed the victims by lining them up after taking them out of their homes, while others were killed inside their homes," EHRC said in its report.

"Among the victims are a baby, a pregnant woman, and an 80-year-old (...) An undetermined number of injured people are currently receiving medical treatment."

"Nine members of the Lutheran church in the diocese of Hamo-Tokuma", in the Oromia region, "were killed by as yet person or persons unknown on November 25", EHRC also claimed.

All the attacks took place between November 23 and 29, after negotiations between the government and the OLA ended without agreement in Tanzania on November 21, with both parties blaming each other.

On Saturday, local Oromia authorities accused the OLA of having "perpetrated horrific acts against peaceful citizens, brutally killing many (...) in the Arsi area".

Estimated at a few thousand men in 2018, its numbers have greatly increased in recent years, although observers consider it insufficiently organized and armed to represent a real threat to Æthiopia's federal power, even though the capital is hemmed in by Oromia.

The Oromo people's region stretches from center to south and east to west, covering around a third of Æthiopia's territory, and is home to around a third of the 120 million inhabitants of Africa's 2nd most populous country.

It is plagued by multi-faceted violence, making the situation extremely confusing: internal political struggles, territorial disputes, and animosities between communities combined with the recent development of armed banditry.

Link

Africa Horn

Ethiopia to begin negotiations with OLA rebel group

2023-04-24

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his government will begin negotiations with rebel group the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Tanzania on Tuesday.

This is the first time the Ethiopian government has formally said it would negotiate with the OLA, which has been battling the government on and off for decades.

“A negotiation with Oneg Shene will start a day after tomorrow in Tanzania,” Abiy said on Sunday, using another name for the OLA.

OLA spokesman Odaa Tarbii did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The OLA is an outlawed splinter group of the Oromo Liberation Front, a formerly banned opposition party that returned from exile after Abiy took office in 2018. The group's grievances are rooted in alleged marginalization Of the Oromo people and neglect by the federal government.

The OLA and the federal government blame each other for a number of attacks in Ethiopia's Oromiya region, the country's most populous, in which scores of civilians have been killed.

In February, the state-appointed human rights commission said at least 50 people were killed in an attack it blamed on the OLA.

In October, the OLA and another Oromo group blamed the Ethiopian government for airstrikes they said had killed a number of civilians.

“The people of Ethiopia and the government eagerly need this negotiation,” Abiy said at a ceremony honoring a previous peace deal achieved between the federal government and forces in the Tigray region, where fighting had erupted in November 2020 and ended in November 2022.

The fighting between the OLA and the federal government is separate to the fighting in Tigray, but the OLA forged an alliance with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2021.

Link

-Lurid Crime Tales-

Man Gets 180 Days in Jail for Raping Girls Aged Between Four and Nine: ‘There Is No Getting Over It'

2023-02-05

The fun jihad of rape, courtesy of our Somali colonists.

[Breitbart] A man from Rochester, Minnesota, will serve 180 days in jail in a case involving the rape of two little girls.

On Monday, 20-year-old Mohamed Bakari Shei stood before Judge Jacob Allen for his sentencing, according to the Post Bulletin.

Judge Allen was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton

...a Democrat, of course...

in August 2018, per the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s website.

Shei also faces up to 30 years on probation, the Bulletin report continued:

Shei was facing three different felony first-degree criminal conduct charges in two separate cases. His plea deal called for no prison time, a stay of adjudication and the dismissal of two out of three charges. If Shei completes his probation, all charges against him will be dismissed and will not be on his criminal record.

One of the victims was approximately nine years of age and the other child was between four and five when the assaults took place.

What appears to be a mugshot was posted online Thursday:

Ilhan Omar's Minnesota

Muslim Mohamed Bakari Shei, (20) will only serve 180 days in jail for Raping two girls, ages 4 and 9

A survivor broke down in tears as she said - "there is no moving on or getting over it. I've tried"

Mohamed does NOT have to register as a Sex Offender pic.twitter.com/WOyU2GO5k5
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) February 2, 2023

Shei’s case was initially delayed due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

However, once the charges were refiled to move forward, the man received a plea deal “that included his stay of adjudication and no prison time in exchange for him not challenging certification in adult court, which allowed for his continued prosecution,” the outlet said.

He’ll be back for something similar soon enough.

The young man will possibly serve 116 days behind bars, depending on his behavior. In addition, he must undergo a sex offender program and log 200 hours of community service. However, he was not ordered to register as a sex offender after victimizing the little girls.

Shei reportedly raped the nine-year-old at a home in Rochester in 2018, and raped the other child several times at the same home during the same time frame. However, the man denied raping the child.

“There is no moving on or getting over it. I’ve tried,” one of the victims said of her experience in court this week before breaking down and crying.

Comment seen on Reddit — I don’t know if it is true:

I read that his father and family tried to payoff the victims family. These people do not want their kids to get serve any time.
The victims are Somali bantu, he is from what I heard Oromo/Somali.

Link

Africa Horn

Dozens killed by Ethiopian ethnic group

2022-09-04

[ALARABIYA] Militia members from Æthiopia’s second largest ethnic group killed dozens of people and torched and looted homes in an attack on a town in the country’s restless Oromia region,

...alternate spelling Oromiya...

survivors told AFP.

The attack took place early Monday in Agamsa in Oromia, Æthiopia’s largest and most densely populated region which is regularly rocked by festivities between the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups.

"The attackers attacked... from three directions using gunfire and continued their attacks until around 2:00 pm," a survivor, who fled Agamsa told AFP.

"They killed around 100 residents, torched many houses and shops and looted food warehouses using rickshaws, cars and cycle of violences. I saw the attack with my own eyes, but managed to flee unharmed."

Another survivor said the assailants stole cattle and killed more than 100 people.

Both said the men were members of a militia based in the neighboring Amhara region.

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which is designated a terrorist organization by Addis Ababa, said the Amhara Fano militia

...youth group/vigilante militia that became active in the 2010s for rampaging against ethnic neighbours on the way to fighting against the then-ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)...

staged the attack and killed at least 62 people in Agamsa.

Neither the regional or federal governments responded to AFP’s demands for confirmation.

Locals said the attack came after rotating regional troops left the area on Sunday but had not been replaced.

Link

Africa Horn

Ethiopia security forces kill 333 suspected rebels: official

2022-08-09

Meanwhile, back in the civil war:

[Garowe] Æthiopian security forces have killed 333 suspected Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels in a recent security operation, an Æthiopian official said.

Speaking to local media outlets on Saturday, State Minister of Government Communications Service Selamawit Kassa said the security operation which started on July 23 and ended on July 29 also resulted in the arrest of 671 suspected OLA operatives.

Kassa also said scores of firearms and radio communication systems were confiscated during the military operation.

Æthiopian security forces also destroyed 69 warehouses that were being used by the rebel group to store supplies, she further said.

The OLA is a breakaway armed faction of the ex-rebel group, Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). In May 2021, the Æthiopian parliament voted to designate the OLA as a terrorist group.

Link

Africa Horn

Ethiopia says over 209 Al-Shabab fighters killed after failed incursion; state gov sez Shabaab is foreign catspaw

2022-07-29

[Garowe] The Æthiopian government on Wednesday disclosed that more than 209 al-Shabaab

...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
fighters have been killed after a failed incursion from neighboring Somalia by the holy warrior group.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Æthiopian Federal Government Communication Service said the coordinated security operation is underway by federal and Æthiopia's Somali regional security forces against remnants of al-Shabaab fighters following their failed incursion.

It said the continued coordinated security operation inflicted a "huge loss of manpower and property" against the al-Shabaab group that attempted to infiltrate the Afder zone of Æthiopia's Somali region a few days ago, adding that more than 209 al-Shabaab fighters have been killed so far.

On Saturday, authorities in Æthiopia's Somali region disclosed that 13 vehicles used by the turbans during their incursion into the southeastern Æthiopia region were destroyed. Large amounts of food supplies and firearms were also captured from the holy warriors.

PM Abiy Ahmed admitted in hospital as Al-Shabaab storms Ethiopia - sources

[Garowe] Æthiopian Prime Minister is after all admitted to hospital, multiple sources have confirmed to Garowe Online, ending speculations following his absence from the public glare for the last couple of weeks, as the country continues to battle with various challenges.

For weeks, there have been concerns about the whereabouts of the Prime Minister, with some quarters claiming that he has been on the battlefield following festivities between security forces and the Oromo Liberation Front [OLF], a group that government dismisses as terrorists.

The Æthiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] has been battling against the group, with some media houses reporting that PM Ahmed could have gone to the battlefield. A few months ago, he had joined ENDF in the fight against Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF]

But reliable sources told Garowe Online that the Æthiopian PM is currently undergoing treatment in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] and has been admitted for the last couple of days. According to the sources, the PM is reportedly suffering from chronic back pain.

On Wednesday, Abiy Ahmed was again absent during the reception of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov who arrived in the country. Protocol dictates that once such guests arrive in the country, they are taken to the office of the PM for bilateral engagements.

But in Africa, it's not unusual for the government to guard information regarding the health of senior government officials, with some dying for several days before the public is notified. This is usually due to a conflict of interests within the government.

His admission comes just as the country foiled al-Shabaab

...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
attacks. After foiling a complex al-Shabazb multi-direction attacks in the east days ago, Mustafe Omer, the president of the Somali region, announced that his regional state in Æthiopia is working to create a 'buffer security zone' inside Somalia to shield its territory from the acts of terrorism.

Omer said the objectives of al-Shabaab's new war in eastern Æthiopia are different from the previous cross-border attacks, adding their info indicates that other foreign powers deadlocked with Addis Ababa over the giant Nile dam may involve. Æthiopia is under pressure from Egypt and Sudan overfilling of water in the Grand Renaissance dam.

He accused unnamed foreign countries of waging proxy warfare in Æthiopia through al-Shabaab which wants to set up permanent bases in the country in an attempt to disrupt the $4.2bn dam project. This comes as a dispute remains unresolved between Egypt, Sudan, and Æthiopia over GERD.

Link

Africa Horn

At least 260 people killed as rebel group attacks civilians in Ethiopia

2022-06-22

[HODHODYEMENNEWS] At least 260 non-combatants were killed due to an attack launched by gunnies in Oromia region of western Æthiopia.

According to eyewitnesses, the victims of the attack, which occurred Saturday, were from Amhara ethnic group, a minority in the region.

One resident put the number of dead at 260 and another said it was 320, making the attack one of the deadliest on civilians in Æthiopia for years, noting that the attackers belonged to an ethnic Oromo rebel group called the Oromo Liberation Army.

...until 2018 the fighting wing of the Oromo Liberation Front, the political party advocating for the self-determination of the Oromo people until the OLF negotiated what turned out to be a temporary peace with the Ethiopian government. The OLA took up arms again during the Tigrayan excitement...

There is at present no indication that the attack is directly linked to the conflict in the northern Tigray region that began in November 2020, which has killed thousands and displaced millions of Æthiopians.

Æthiopia has seen a resurgence of ethnic conflict started by a series of ethnicity-based rebel groups opposing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who assumed office in 2018. Ahmed has been trying to end the system of "ethnic federalism" and ethnicity-based politics that have been in place since the 1990s, which has been met with opposition from certain heavily ethnicity-based political groups and politicians. Some analysts suspect the US plays a role in supporting the rebel groups, a suspicion further bolstered by recent US attempts to place sanctions on countries supporting the Addis Ababa government.

America, Egypt, Saudi Arabia — a variety of parties are interested in the outcome of the current nonsense over there.

Link

Africa Horn

Ethiopia’s Tigray forces announce release of thousands of prisoners of war

2022-05-22

[Garowe] The Tigray rebel forces fighting Æthiopia's federal army say they will release 4,000 prisoners of war as part of an amnesty.

The Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front

...(TPLF), their armed wing is the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). Originally a Hoxhaist (ultra-Stalinist) ethnic liberation movement stood up in the 1970s, they ruled Ethiopia from the time they overthrew their Marxist predecessors in 1991 until Nobel Peace Prize laureate (for signing a peace treaty with Eritrea) Abiy Ahmed Ali, scion of the Oromos and formerly a successful general under the TPLF regime, was elected prime minister in 2018. He was lauded for all the pro-Western democracy reforms he introduced, until he was sucked into China’s One Belt - One Road project, and incidentally stopped sharing tax income with the Tigray provincial government, whereupon they decided that taking back the country would be more profitable. The TPLF is supported by Egypt, Sudan, and the anti-China West, while the Abiy Ahmed government is supported by China and Eritrea...

announced the release on Twitter Friday, amid an escalating war of words between Æthiopian and Tigray region officials over provocations and preparations for another round of full-blown war.

The Tigray forces decided to release 4,208 prisoners of war with an amnesty, out of which 401 are women, according to the tweet.

"Most of them were captured (in fighting) outside of the Tigray region, and others joined the fight in a forced conscription," Birhane Kebede, coordinator of the prisoners' center in the region, was quoted as saying by the regional ruling party. Birhane said those with disabilities, illnesses and women who gave birth in detention were given priority for release.

The decision to release the prisoners followed weeks of talks held between military commanders on both sides, according to a foreign diplomat in Addis Ababa, who said talks at the political level have not yet taken place.

This is the second time Tigray forces have announced the release of prisoners of war. In July 2021 they announced the release of 1,000 federal army soldiers after parading them in front of the public.

"These releases are probably both a sign of goodwill and also of the acute food shortage in Tigray," William Davison, the International Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for Æthiopia, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

"Now that aid flows to the (Tigray) region have increased amid a prolonged lull in large-scale fighting, the federal government should restore vital services such as banking and advance the grinding of the peace processor by opening talks on a permanent ceasefire with Tigray's leaders," he said.

Æthiopia's deadly civil war that erupted in November 2020 after federal officials accused Tigray forces of attacking an army base in the region is believed to have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Aid groups say federal forces sealed off the region, especially since July 2021, making very difficult the delivery of food and other desperately needed aid. In recent months the Æthiopian has relaxed the restrictions somewhat to allow a better flow of aid into the Tigray region.

Link

Africa Horn

Fighting Breaks Out in Ethiopia’s Amhara Despite 'Humanitarian Cease-fire'

2022-05-01

[Garowe] Æthiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a humanitarian cease-fire five weeks ago, but it is already beginning to fray. In the northern region of Amhara, fighting had subsided. But, last week, it erupted again.

VOA spoke to witnesses who got caught up in the fighting when turbans from the Fano militia group, on the border of the Oromia zone, in Amhara, allegedly opened fire on civilians close to the town of Shewa Robit.

Wendowessen Mamo says he was 3 kilometers away when the conflict erupted.

"Molale, the epicenter of the conflict, is almost burned to the ground like Ataye town was, where three such ethnic-based conflicts happened in the space of a year," he added.

The hills of Amhara have been the scene of fighting between federal government forces, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and militia groups for months.

Most people who spoke to VOA said they want to see peace now — among them Demeku Ali Abdu, who says her son was taken and killed after TPLF troops occupied her house last year.

"When I confirmed my child's death, I felt so alone," she said, as she started to cry. "I felt bereft for my future. And also, I thought about his two children growing up without a father. I hate to live without him."

Ahmed Mohammed Seid, part of a local militia who fought to push the TPLF out of his hometown, hopes the fighting will soon end for good. Seid said he hopes conflict will never return to his home. He believes that all parties involved in the conflict have learned lessons, and "I hope every person strives for the prevalence of peace."

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
a spokesperson for the local government said the presence of the TPLF in Amhara has emboldened other holy warrior groups. Jemal Hassen, Oromo special zone government spokesperson, said, "Both TPLF and Oromo separatists have a common goal or target. Their marriage seems to have become more concrete as they have common agendas of dismantling the state apparatus and retaking control of politics."

The special zone is an enclave of ethnic Oromos surrounded by the Amhara region.

In January, Abiy announced a national dialogue with the aim of bringing peace to the country. But the initiative has been criticized for failing to include many of the factions engaged in conflict, including the TPLF.

Æthiopian analyst Kiram Tadesse said, "There was optimism from all parties involved. Divergence has also started to emerge among these opposing parties, especially among those that are not included, and its credibility has been questioned."

Link

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