In a disturbing escalation of collective punishment, the desperate PM Abiy Ahmeds regime has begun a new form of siege in western Oromia. The ENDF and allies initially implemented a total siege in the Tigray war. While the same total blockade was intermittently attempted by the ENDF in parts of western Oromia in the past four years, the regime could not sustain the same blanket siege that proved lethal against the people of Tigray because majority of whatever little resource the country produces comes from Oromia. Its callous indifference to the suffering of the people notwithstanding, the regime is not expected to seal off its resource base. The size and central location of Oromia is also not susceptible to a full chock-hold.
Hence, another preferred form of siege is being implemented in western Oromia starting from west Shewa. By coordinating the military and its local cadres, the regime is preventing family members, father and mothers of member of the OLA, and suspected supporters of the resistance movement from using healthcare facilities, hospitals, education, courts, and all communal services including burial grounds for dead family members. Families with senior citizens have been denied their pensions, and those with jobs have been terminated.
While the regime did not seal-off the entire region for obvious self-serving reasons, the effects of the current measures from the vantage point of affected communities is as crippling as a fully-fledged siege.
OLF-OLA High Command
April 27, 2024
