Abbay Media News
Yassin Ibrahim
The prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, told the nation in a press conference on Sunday December 17, 2017 that the political situation and the learning process in universities are in serious conditions in the regions of Oromia, Ethiopian Somali, Amhara and Tigray. He said there were losses of life, destruction of property and displacement of people in clashes at the border between Oromia and Ethiopian Somali.
The residents of Ethio Somali region who took shelter in a police station located in West Hararghe Bedrolobi ‘Woreda’ Gadle ‘Kebele were the subject of mass murder, the Prime Minister acknowledged. By this statement the PM is putting the responsibility for the lives lost squarely on Oromia regional police. This stands in contradiction with the statement from the president of Oromia, Lemma Megersa, who said he has not authorized any force to enter Oromia and he doesn’t know who carried out the murders.
The Prime Minister then disclosed the defense and security forces were sent to the area with a given mission but didn’t clarify the kind and scope of the mission. In addition Oromo born residents of Chelenko and surroundings have suffered death and injuries due to clashes, he informed the press.
PM Hailemariam didn’t mention the responsible party for death and injury caused to university students of Adigrat in Tigray, Wolega and Ambo in Oromia, and Debre Tabor, Gondar, Woldya in Amhara regions. But he stated his government will identify the true causes of of the clashes and will take measures that will resolve the root problem.
In another news, the Ethiopian parliament members are asking the PM to go to the parliament and explain the current dire situation in the country where many lives and livelihoods are being destroyed, especially in Oromia and Ethio-Somali regions.
Currently the executive body of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Forces (EPRDF) is holding a closed meeting in the capital Addis Ababa. Sources indicate, apparently the meeting is full of fierce arguments between Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) members.
