Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (Ezema), a prominent Ethiopian opposition party, has called on the government to arm civilians so that they can defend themselves against attacks by Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels in the Oromia region.
“We would like to emphasize that it is critical to arm communities living in areas where government security forces cannot easily reach, in a legitimate and organized manner, so that they can resolutely defend themselves,” Ezema said in a Facebook statement.
Prof Berhanu Nega, the minister of education, is the leader of Ezema, one of the main opposition parties that agreed to collaborate with the government.
Its appeal follows attacks in western Oromia that have killed hundreds of civilians, destroyed property, and displaced millions. Meanwhile, Getachew Reda, the spokesman for the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in northern Ethiopia, accused federal authorities of inflaming the conflict in Oromia in a Twitter post.
When we signed a peace deal in Pretoria it’s with the firm belief that only political solutions could, if at all, help resolve our political problems. It was & still is our hope that this same assumption informs the decisions of our adversaries/partners since. What’s happening in
— Getachew K Reda (@reda_getachew) December 7, 2022
