Ethiopian parliamentarian says government forces are committing massacres to frame the Oromo Liberation Army
In a bombshell Facebook Live video, Hangaasa Adem Ibrahim, a member of the federal parliament, called out Oromia state officials for committing massacres on ethnic Amharas with the intention of blaming the Oromo Liberation Army (referred to as “Shene” by the government).
July 6th, 2022 — Merely a day after news broke out of another massacre in western Oromia, a member of the House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) took to Facebook Live to call out Oromia regional state officials for being responsible for the series of atrocities that have generated much anger in the country. Hangaasa, who represents the Funyan Bira constituency, stated that the regional government had formed a clandestine militia that was being used to commit atrocities that could be blamed on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
The OLA and Ethiopian government have been locked in a deadly war in Oromia state for the last four years. The area where the conflict has been most intense is western Oromia where there have been dozens of massacres reported with the majority of the victims being ethnic Amharas. The government has charged the OLA with being responsible for the killings — a claim the rebels deny. Instead, the OLA has blamed what it calls “the regime’s militias” that have been deployed to commit atrocities so that they could be blamed on the rebels. The recent statements by Hangaasa and the accounts of survivors who said there was coordination between security forces and perpetrators give new credence to the rebels’ claims.
Who is Hangaasa Adem Ibrahim?
Before 2019, Hangaasa was a Toronto-based political commentator known mainly for the animated speeches he would give on Facebook Live. In these videos, he called for people to support Abiy Ahmed and often went on tirades against the Oromo Liberation Front.
By the time he moved back to Ethiopia in 2019, he had established a large following and was given an official welcome by Oromia state officials. Over the next two years, Hangaasa toured Oromia state promoting Abiy Ahmed’s government as part of a community outreach program for the Prosperity Party. He was credited by Oromia state officials such as Taye Dendea Aredo for being the reason that the Oromo Liberation Army was unable to “infiltrate Hararghe zone”. According to Hangaasa himself, he “successfully mobilized the local population to report the rebel’s movements” to security forces.
In 2021, Hangaasa was elected into the HoPR representing the Funyan Bira constituency in East Hararghe Zone. A few weeks following the massacre of Karrayu Oromo traditional leaders, Hangaasa returned to Facebook Live and made several claims criticizing the Oromia state government. He accused the upper echelons of the regional administration of nepotism and stated that they were monopolizing the region’s khat and cement industries for personal benefit. More controversially, he said that the Karrayu traditional leaders were killed by Oromia’s security forces and not the OLA as had been reported till that time. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission later confirmed his claim. Hangaasa also lamented the OLA’s expansion into the Hararghe and Shawa zones of Oromia, stating that the regional government’s actions had bolstered support for the rebels.
What did he say now?
3-days prior to his video statement, Hangaasa made a Facebook post saying that a former member of his security detail had been assassinated in Addis Abeba. According to him, the bodyguard had been withdrawn by the Oromia government after Hangaasa exposed Oromia security forces for being behind the Karayu killings. In his video statement, he further claims that he had received information that the bodyguard, named Muhidin Abba Jihad, was killed for refusing orders to assassinate Hangaasa. This was just one of the stunning accusations made against the Oromia government.
But what has set social media alight were Hangaasa’s statements regarding the series of massacres of ethnic Amharas that have been occurring in western Oromia for over a year. In his video, he says that the Oromia government was engaging in false flag operations in order to implicate the OLA. He explains that the Oromia security bureau armed and trained a clandestine militia that was being deployed to don the appearance of OLA fighters and conduct massacres and looting. Previous to this, both the former security chief of Oromia state, General Kamal Galchu, and the OLA itself made similar claims.
Hangaasa named several high-ranking members of the Oromia government as being complicit in this operation:
- Oromia President Shimeles Abdisa
- Oromia Deputy President Awol Abdi
- Oromia 2nd Deputy President Addisu Arega
- Oromia Police Commissioner Ararsa Merdasa
- Oromia Security Bureau Chief Colonel Abebe Geresu
- Oromia Prosperity Party Head Fikadu Tessema
Regarding the complicity of the federal government, Hangaasa stated that he didn’t believe Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed knew what was happening in Oromia state. However, he added that if the Prime Minister did not take action by holding the Oromia government accountable, then he would have to be complicit himself.
What is next?
The veracity of Hangaasa’s claims cannot be independently confirmed or denied without more evidence. However, claims of a militia created by the Oromia regional government to look like OLA fighters are not new. General Kamal Galchu, after a short stint as Oromia Security Bureau chief, said in 2019 that the Oromia chapter of the Prosperity Party had formed a secret militia meant to look like the OLA to confuse people. The OLA, on its part, has consistently claimed that the Abiy government was training an armed force in Sanqale Police Camp to mimic and look like the OLA. According to them, the government had even gone as far as putting wigs on these fighters so they resembled the dreads often donned by OLA fighters. Daniel Bekele, who heads the government-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, told a news outlet that Oromia security forces were putting military uniforms and wigs on prisoners, giving them guns, and posing them for pictures.
Furthermore, several survivors of the dozens of massacres in western Oromia have all claimed that these attacks were occurring in coordination with security forces who are often in the vicinity as the killings ensue. Following the massacre in Tole, the federal military quietly arrested three local administrators, including the head of the District Militia Office. Survivors told Al Jazeera that “members of a local government force tasked with protecting the area suddenly departed unannounced” mere days before the massacre ensued only to return hours after the killings had ended. According to one witness statement, there is a major military camp just 20 minutes away from where the 9-hour massacre took place.
Attempts to reach out to the federal and Oromia authorities for a comment on this matter have been unsuccessful. As international and local demands for accountability for the massacres grow more intense, it is clear that the Abiy administration will need to provide answers soon.
