Residents say at least 35 to 38 people, mostly local militia and police, were killed when gunmen attacked Endeto in Robe woreda on 5 November. Oromia's government blamed the Oromo Liberation Army; no group has claimed responsibility.
Gunmen killed dozens of people in an attack on the small town of Endeto in Robe woreda, in the Arsi area of Ethiopia's Oromia region, on Thursday 5 November, residents told BBC Amharic and Addis Standard. It is the second major attack in the wider Arsi area in two weeks.
Residents told BBC Amharic that 38 people died: 37 in an assault that lasted from about dawn until late morning, and one wounded man who died on Friday on the way to a health centre. They said about 10 of the dead were civilians and the rest were local militia members and police. One witness said he had counted 34 bodies being prepared for a mass burial at the church, aged between 17 and 80. Addis Standard, citing residents, put the toll at at least 35 and said gunfire hit several locations, including around St Mary's Church and local security posts. Residents said four to six people were missing, so the toll could rise.
Blame and response
Hailu Adugna, head of Oromia's government communication bureau, told BBC Afaan Oromoo that "Shene", the government's term for the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), carried out the attack, and said the government was taking action. He said recent attacks in Arsi and Wollega were intended to set religions and ethnic groups against each other. No group has claimed responsibility, and CERHA found no OLA statement on the attack. The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) said residents had confirmed 34 deaths and called for an urgent, independent international investigation. Oromia police have deployed to the area, residents said, but fear remains high.
Context
Endeto lies about 60km from Robe town, in the former Arsi zone, now part of a new South-East Oromia zone, according to BBC Amharic. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said 48 people were killed in attacks by the OLA and other armed men in nearby Shirka woreda on 24 October and called for a prompt, independent inquiry. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church put the Shirka toll at 46 and said 14 more were killed in neighbouring Merti woreda. Oromia officials said 73 suspects had been arrested over the Shirka attack. The United States and the United Kingdom have called for investigations into the October killings.
The attacks come as federal forces fight Tigrayan forces in the north and Fano militias in Amhara, and as clashes continue around Moyale on the Oromia–Somali regional boundary.
Image: Asella, the main town of the Arsi area of Oromia, Ethiopia, 2021. Ayeleabebe, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.