Ethiopian rebel group accuses government of airstrikes
Posted Jan 18, 2019 7:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian rebel group recently welcomed back to the country accuses the reformist government of targeting it with airstrikes. The government denies it.
Tensions are growing with the Oromo Liberation Front, which a year ago was in exile and listed as a terror group after waging a deadly guerrilla war for self-determination.
The OLF on Thursday said Ethiopia’s air force carried out airstrikes in the western Oromia region on Jan. 12-13, saying seven civilians, including a baby, were killed.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office denied it but said rebel groups were “not heeding the call for peace.” It accused the OLF of “egregious violence against community members.”
The office said Ethiopian forces have been “undertaking a stabilizing operation over the past two weeks, and the area is now being secured.”
The Associated Press
