ONM-ABO April 16, 2025 | Kuyu & Fantalle Districts, Shaggar Zone
Government-aligned forces under Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party (PP) have once again been implicated in the indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry and targeted killings of Oromo civilians, according to reports from ONM-ABO correspondents in northern and eastern Shaggar.
In the Kuyu district of Northern Shaggar, PP forces allegedly fired heavy artillery into civilian areas on April 15, 2025, resulting in the death of Mrs. Guluma Shumi, a 55-year-old mother, and causing life-threatening injuries to Mr. Fayisa Boja, age 45. Eyewitnesses described the shelling as random and without any military justification, a pattern increasingly observed in areas where federal forces face resistance from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
“These attacks are not about defeating the OLA on the battlefield,” one local resident told ONM-ABO. “They are targeting Oromo civilians in a desperate campaign to punish the population and break their will.”
The community mourns Mrs. Shumi, who was killed instantly, and prays for the survival of Mr. Boja, who remains in critical condition. The strikes reportedly caused further destruction to nearby homes and properties, deepening the humanitarian toll in a region already destabilized by years of government militarization.
Observers have condemned the use of heavy weapons in civilian areas, especially given the regime’s failure to protect Ethiopia’s borders from external threats. “Rather than using its arsenal to defend the nation, the regime has turned its weapons on its own people,” noted one Oromo elder. “This is not counterinsurgency—it is a genocide in progress.”
Meanwhile, in the Fantalle district of East Shaggar, another civilian has fallen victim to what locals describe as state terror. On April 12, 2025, Mr. Hawaas Bulgaa, widely known in the community as Abbaa Gannoo, was fatally shot by PP soldiers while returning home from work in Dirra Sadeen village. The killing was allegedly carried out under the pretext that Mr. Hawaas had “sympathies with the OLA” and “showed the way”—accusations dismissed by neighbors as baseless.
Community members say Mr. Hawaas was a respected, politically neutral elder, known for promoting reconciliation and unity within the village. “He was not a combatant, nor a politician,” a resident emphasized. “He was a family man who worked hard and lived peacefully.”
The pattern of extrajudicial killings, artillery attacks, and collective punishment reported in Oromia suggests a deliberate and coordinated campaign by PP forces to terrorize civilian populations in areas with strong Oromo nationalist sentiment. Despite growing international awareness, accountability remains elusive.
These incidents underscore the Oromo people’s deepening resolve to resist oppression and defend their right to dignity and self-determination.
