Here is how Oromia media presented the Somali killing of last week

[galbeedi]

Ethiopia • Oromia

Several dozens killed in fresh communal violence in Ethiopia’s Oromia state

December 18, 2017

 

(OPride) — Only days after Ethiopian troops shot and killed 16 unarmed Oromo civilians in Chelenko town in Oromia’s East Hararghe zone, a fresh bout of tit-for-tat violence has left several dozens dead across the restive state. Civilian deaths, injury, destruction of property and mass displacement of ordinary citizens have become a normal occurrence along the Oromia and Somali states border. But the latest reports from West Hararghe zone — far from the disputed common border — paint a chilling picture of a communal scourge and revenge attacks.

 

Accounts vary on what exactly happened in Daro Labu and Hawi Gudina districts but troubles began on December 14, 2017. Hawi Gudina is located some 180 kilometers inside Oromia; and as with Daro Labu district, it does not share a border with the Somali regional state. On Thursday evening, Voice of America’s Horn of Africa service spoke to Oromo eyewitnesses who said armed groups from the Somali state have laid siege to the entire area, and have set ablaze over 80 homes. Exactly what would send the armed Somali forces in the direction of Hawi Gudina isn’t clear. There are no prior disputes over resources or boundary. Somali and Oromo families have lived in the area harmoniously for years.

 

In a lengthy statement on Sunday, Addisu Arega, a spokesperson for Oromia State, condemned the violence on both sides and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. He put the death toll at 61 (29 Oromos and 32 ethnic Somalis.)

Addisu denounced the attack on Somali residents as unOromo or out of tune with cherished Oromo values. His statement offers the most detailed timeline of the tragic violence. Tensions came to ahead early Friday after armed Somali men launched attacks on civilians at Ibsa and Ta’o villages of Hawi Gudina district. The attack reportedly left 29 Oromo civilians dead; Among the dead was Ahmed Taha, a beloved and prominent member of the community. The Somali attackers also burned more than 360 homes and destroyed public properties.

 

Angered by the unprovoked assault, Ahmed’s brother, Ziad Taha, a resident of  Daro Labu district, Gadulo village, organized a mob of local youth and launched horrific retaliation against Somali civilians, who according to Addisu, had nothing to do with Ahmed’s death or the Oromo-Somali border crisis. The tragedy was compounded by a sudden and suspicious withdrawal from the area of federal security forces, who had reportedly urged the local Somali residents to gather at a makeshift shelter. Some are now asking: Why did the military gather Somali villagers in one place while there was no imminent danger to them? Once they took shelter, why did the military leave supposedly vulnerable evacuees without any protection?

 

In a report on Saturday, the Somali State-run ESTV accused Oromia officials for downplaying the incident and said 65 Somalis were killed by armed Oromo men. Ethiopian Government Spokesman Negeri Lencho last month accused Somali leaders and Liyu police commanders of stonewalling federal investigations into the Oromia-Somali border crisis. Routine armed incursions, cross-border raids, and targeted attacks by the Somali State Liyu Police — a notorious paramilitary force commanded by region’s president, Abdi Mohamoud  Omer — has caused the deaths of hundreds and the displacement of more than half a million Oromos, most in the second half of 2017. Somali authorities have refused federal police requests to arrest suspects and they were not cooperating with ongoing investigations launched by the country’s prime minister, according to Negeri. To date, Somali state officials arrested only five suspects in connection with the worst internal displacements of civilians in Ethiopia’s history. By contrast, Oromia arrested about 100 people for the massacre of Somali civilians in Awaday town two months ago.

In a televised statement on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn denounced the violence and expressed “profound sorrow to the victim’s families, relatives, and the Ethiopian people.” He characterized the killings in Gadulo as “acts of mass murder committed against Ethiopian Somali natives who were sheltered at a nearby police station for their safety.”

He also announced that a task force has been set up to investigate the incident and promised to share the outcome when completed, adding the culprits would face justice. Hailemariam is widely seen as a placeholder and his government faces a legitimacy crisis amid growing political tensions. It is unlikely that his statements reassured anyone. It didn’t help that the Prime Minister’s statements contained factual inaccuracies. For example, Hailemariam told the nation the mass murder took place at a shelter set up inside local police station. Activists quickly shot down that claim, pointing out the fact that there was no police station in the village where the violence occurred. The premier’s sudden outrage was also met with cries of a double standard. He hasn’t been heard much from over the last few months amid daily reports of civilian deaths and the displacement of more than a million Oromo citizens. He made no public statements last week when his military forces mowed down 16 civilians and injured a similar number. This left many searching for answers: Are Oromo lives not worthy of a national outrage? Why is it so easy to be outraged against the Oromo or when perpetrators happen to be Oromo?

[Che -Guevara]

Everything is portrayed as an attack on poor Oromo.  They killed Somalis mercilessly and are getting away with it.

[cadnaan1]

unfortunately this was waiting to happen and worst yet to come abdi illey wuxuu daan daansaday umad 50 million ah uusan awood u leheen inuu iska dhiciyo oromodana ciilkii iyo caradi ay u qabeen tigreeda somalida ayey la duldhacayaan.

[maakhiri1]

Guys,, worse is yet to come and this game is 100% set by the federal government/Tigrey. And Abdi iIlley is even on it, serving his masters.

 

It is a big plan and poor and not so smart Oromos and Somalis are falling for it.

 

There was a somali journalist who was covering and he got a call from close Oromo friend , who told him he does not see the whole picture and the story is not complete, told him investigate more, don't propagate the regime version, he told you are reporting as wanted and set by Tigrey, meaning Oromo stooges like Illey  arre told to massacre Somalis.

 

Meesha waxbaa ka socda.

[Old_Observer]

The use of that picture by the Oromo is utterly immoral and it shows to what extent the diaspora is really lost all human considerations. There is nothing untouchable anymore. This is a subliminal message, that when accumulated creates irreparable damage.

All this being done from comfortable life in western countries.

 

You would expect the diaspora Oromo to get together with Somali, condemn killings period and challenge the governments to either resign or keep order.

 

So sad. To make matters worst even the Diaspora Oromo knows at this point they cannot enhance their influence in Ethiopia by this method, but still keep pressing for killings to continue, hoping the country will blow up.

[Old_Observer]

5 hours ago, cadnaan1 said:

unfortunately this was waiting to happen and worst yet to come abdi illey wuxuu daan daansaday umad 50 million ah uusan awood u leheen inuu iska dhiciyo oromodana ciilkii iyo caradi ay u qabeen tigreeda somalida ayey la duldhacayaan.

 

Quite the contrary. It is going to calm down. The president of Oromo along with others was in parliament to directly and openly explain as to what is happening.

 

The Internet effect ones it passes, the eality and truth comes out and the people on the ground get chance to tell their story, which is much closer to truth, even if you may have doubt.

 

Every state is responsible for order and safet of the citezns in that state. If not the state should either ask or the federal government will come on its own beyond a certain level of disorder.

 

The Oromo have come to realze that, this thing can totally go out of their control and they will loose first before others. Every state in Ethiopia borders Oromia except Tigray.

 

In the next few days you will see the Oromo diaspora tuning its campaign. It has already started. The Oromo diaspora is accusing the prime minister of siding with the Somali. The Oromo diaspora is accusing the Amhara of not helping them, but staying totally quite. The Afar and Tigray are of course always accused of siding with Somali. What does this show you? Total frastration that cannot be hidden anymore. The quick revolution that was expected is not happening and diaspora hates slow speed.

[Old_Observer]

On 12/25/2017 at 7:09 PM, maakhiri1 said:

Guys,, worse is yet to come and this game is 100% set by the federal government/Tigrey. And Abdi iIlley is even on it, serving his masters.

 

 

 

 

Some of you that have hate for Illey and some of us who have dislike for his ways, read this, systemic propaganda that has been going on using Liyu as cover (bold is mine):

 

THE ORCHESTRATED MASSACRES OF SOMALIS IN OROMIA IS TANTAMOUNT TO AN ETHNIC CLEANSING

By Mohamed Olad

What happened in Hawi Gudina, Daru Lebu, Hawaday and other areas in Oromia Region__the deliberate, systemic and heinously executed operations, are crimes against humanity of ethnic cleansing proportions. You can imagine these kind things happening only in Rwanda or in Myanmar not in Ethiopia were diversity is celebrated and communities proudly coexisted since the beginning of time and certainly not in the year 2017.

Innocent, terrified and defenseless civilians who lived in Oromia for generations were killed just because they were the wrong ethnic group. This case Somalis.

This well-orchestrated savagery of the first order was a predictable outcome of months long incitement and vilification against Somalis by painting a caricature of them as all being Liyou Police and hence used by TPLF to kill Oromos, as insinuated by some forces with clandestine political objectives in OPDO camouflage and openly by those so-called activists in the diaspora.

This was the culmination of months-long whipping of the sentiments of the Oromo people by spreading fake news at every opportunity and moment of the day to advance their agenda. This precipitated, as a result, an environment in which these kind atrocities can happen.

A good example of this is how Addisu Arega Kitessa, Oromia Regional Communication Affairs Head and by extension Lemma Meggersa, has spread falsehoods regarding Somali victims of ethnic violence in Oromia Region.

One of those treacherous moves is his recent media engagements, both national and international, in which he even claimed that there were more Oromos who have died in Hawi Gudina. His constant lies about either the score of those perished or the circumstances surrounding the deliberate and coordinated attacks that resulted the loss of so many innocent civilians in an undeserving death, just adds fuel to the fire.

These and other misleading falsehoods that lack both professional integrity and respect for the rule of law will only fuel the current unrest and hasten the march towards mutual quagmire. What has also taken me aback was the fact that the Oromia Regional government will adopt the talking points of those forces that are hell bent on destroying the current Federalist structure word by word and sentence by sentence.

If you think I am just being hysterical here or may be connecting dots that are not even there, closely examine the Oromia Regional Government’s position regarding the reasons behind the #HawiGudina&DaroLebuMassacre and check the rubbish that Jawar Mohammed, OPride and the likes shared on social media in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and two days before even the Oromia Regional Government would acknowledge what happened and see it for yourself.

Addisu’s lies has reached wide and far even to the corridors of respected news organizations like the Routers and Aljazeera English. These lies only add insult to injury if the Oromia Regional government through it is head propagandist is not even acknowledging the circumstances surrounding their death.

The other big ‘fake news’ that was making headlines, though it can be easily traced back those same colluding and contriving forces, is the fact that these events were triggered by a Liyou Police attack on Oromos in Hawi Godina and Daro Lebu. But the truth lies in the simple answer to a basic geographic question __where did this happen? The mighty answer is around 200 km west into Oromia Region. If the Liyou Police can carry attacks in the center of Oromia, it shouldn’t take them that much to conquer Addis Ababa soon.

These sustained and well-coordinated media campaigns conflated border clashes that are due to fraudulent 2004 referendum and other factors __mainly fight over control of grazing land and other natural resources, with premeditated massacres against ethnic Somalis in Oromia Region either under the nose or suspected involvement of Oromia security apparatus.

Sadly, what this incident laid bare is the reality that propaganda and incitement has real consequences. The sad reality is that these so-called activists’ social media pages, opposition media outlets like OPride, OMN as well as OBN and Addisu Arega Kitessa are all working in tandem to cause mayhem.

In an avalanche of propaganda and widespread misinformation, it is even hard to distinguish between two supposedly opposite sides. It is hard to tell where one ends and the other one starts. By now, we should all understand what damage reckless and unfettered propaganda can cause.

The other unfortunate reveal of this tragic event is the fact that both national and local media barely covered this horrendous attacks, notwithstanding the biased media outlets like Addis Standard that have become the voice for the dark forces.

Finally, what happened in Hawi Gudina and Daro Lebu is pure savagery. Hundreds of peaceful, terrified and defenseless civilians were slaughtered using ‘machoo’, the proclaimed weapon of choice for Jawar et al. and dumbed in to a ditch.Those who are using priceless human life as a political chip have blood on their hands.

This is also what break down of law and order and the abdication of the Federal Government’s sacred constitutional duty to uphold its citizens’ unalienable right to live would look like.

We shall never forget!

Editor’s Note; Mohamed Olad is a commentator and writer based in the United States whose works have appeared on different media publications. He is a former Faculty Fellow at Jig-Jiga University. He can be reached at mohamedolad88@gmail.com

 

[Old_Observer]

Here is a sample where Jawar used a picture from Kenya of persons killed by Al Shabab in the past. There is an image on the post which I do not want and should not be copied:

 

image

Jawar Mohammed
18 hrs ·

Update on Mieso attack today: The death toll has risen to 53 as the attack on Oromos continues by Issa militia and Liyu police.
53 Oromos are dead currently....

#OromoGenocide
#OromosBeingKilled
#CivilianDeath

[Old_Observer]

On 12/25/2017 at 1:55 PM, Che -Guevara said:

Everything is portrayed as an attack on poor Oromo.  They killed Somalis mercilessly and are getting away with it.

 

Now starts the Truth coming out. Journalists went to the area and here is some of what I read. Unless it becomes unstopable and achieves the objectives of the perpetraters in a short time, incidents like this end up harming the perpetreter, more than the victim. Panic on the part of the victim is deadly. Give it a week and the Oromo government spokesperson will issue an apology for how he stated and people like Jawar if consider himself man, let alone following the religion will have to regret and show the victims at the very least that they were wrong and will never happen again.

 

Reportage on the Recent Mass Killing of Ethio-Somal in Oromia Region

Dec 26, 2017- The recent killing of innocent Ethio-Somal in Oromia region has touched nerves with many Ethiopians! Tamrat Yemane and other invited journalist were invited to visit the area affected by the recent killings. He has prepared the following report to highlight what happened and how it happened based on direct eye witness and people with direct knowledge.Click Here for More!

 

 

[galbeedi]

Mr. Old Observer,

 

WE had Enough of your anti Oromo propaganda . 

 

We SOmalis want to have peace with our Oromo brothers. Please take your propaganda somewhere else.

The four million Tigray can not dominate the people of Ethiopia. You can not create war and anarchy among our Oromo brothers. By reading carefully some of your posts, I realized that you are A Tigray propagandist who was trying to sow discord among us.

 

 

If you are Soomaali please write in Somali, if not, We do not like your pro-Tigray propaganda here.  Take it somewhere else.

[maakhiri1]

GALBEEDI, I was about to say same thing, we don't want Somaliaonline to be Tigrey propaganda machine 

 

Owners of this site  have a responsibility,

[galbeedi]

Tilamook told us about this guy long ago, but we are too slow sometimes.