Ethiopia: Human rights organization claims armed group in control of Sedal Woreda, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, as of April 21

Event

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued a statement April 21 claiming that the organization received reports that an unidentified armed group was in control of the Sedal Woreda in Benishangul-Gumuz Region's Kamashi Zone. According to information the EHRC reportedly obtained from interviews with residents of the woreda and unidentified officials, the group has held the area since at least April 19. The insurgents reportedly have killed an unspecified number of civilians, kidnapped local civil servants, and burned down and looted public and private property. Unconfirmed reports indicate that local police may have fled the area, with the small remaining contingent of security forces being outnumbered and awaiting reinforcements.

The Ethiopian government will highly likely deploy additional troops to Sedal and the surrounding area in an effort to repel the insurgents and restore order. Local authorities will almost certainly maintain increased security in Kamashi Zone until the situation in Sedal stabilizes. Officials may impose movement restrictions and establish checkpoints. Restrictions may be expanded should violence continue.

Context

Although the identities of the armed fighters and their motives in targeting Sedal are as yet unknown, long-standing disputes over land and other resources are turning deadly as majority ethnic groups in Ethiopia's regional states clash with large ethnic minorities. In early January, gunmen killed about 80 civilians and injured 22 others in an attack on Balite Kebele in Benishangul-Gumuz Region's Metekel Zone, which borders Kamashi to the north. Moreover, regional security officials regularly accuse the Oromo Liberation Front-Shene (OLF-S) of similar attacks. The group is a breakaway faction of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which split off after the OLF signed a peace accord with the federal government in August 2018. The OLF-S remains active in the western Oromia and North Shewa zones of the Amhara Region.

Advice

Exercise extreme caution if operating in the Kamashi Zone until the situation in Sedal stabilizes and government forces have secured the area. Heed the instructions of local authorities. Maintain contact with your diplomatic mission.