By Gashu R.G.
Since the protest spilled over the streets of Oromiya in November, the region has not been stable and a new fresh violence and confrontation erupted in the towns of Aje and Shashamane to claim four lives and a number of injuries. It was last Thursday night–11 February 2016 when the violence began at the wedding ceremony in Aje, a tiny town located on the outskirt of Shashamane town, 249 km in the south east of the capital Addis Ababa.
According to residents of the town, the cadres and woreda police confronted the people who were singing at the wedding ceremony to Achalu Hundessa’s song, which they said was banned because of its volatile message of the Oromo politics. Following their surprise entry to the wedding ceremony, they started beating and harassing the youth who were singing it emotionally. The youth started to use force while confronting the police and the two cadres who later joined the dispute with aggressive manner and intimidation. According to an eye witness, the police started firing a rifle into the sky to disperse the crowd immediately after the two young men attacked the cadres in response to the attack to their OLF sentiment.
The eye witness also said that the police shot dead one of the young man who attacked the cadre for the insult he received in connection to OLF (Oromo Liberation Front). Then after, the party turned into a complete fight war zone as hundreds of the wedding guests attempted to take on the two police officers and the cadres. The violence continued to be uncontrolled and caused a number of injuries when other several police officers came in to help the police. Finally, the military was called by the police and the security and intelligence bureau of the wereda to intervene.
According to the eye witness, who requested anonymity for the sake of his safety, the military pick up Toyota arrived around 10 o’clock from the Toga military camp, found in a few kilometres between the town of Shashamane and Hawassa to disperse and clear the town beating and arresting the youth found at the wedding house. However, the eye witness said that this only worked for not more than ten hours that in the early morning of Friday, 12th February 2016, the tiny town turned violent and uncontrollably filled with thousands of young men who had sticks, sword, bayonet and spears to face the police and cadres in the town. They were seen burning down huts, vehicles and also attacking anyone whom they knew member of the ruling party or a supporter on their way up to the town of Shashamane, 14 km away.
The violence spread out in the town of Shashamane and other neighbouring towns in Asassa, Kofele and Dodola rapidly to cause several deaths and injuries. So far, the regional and the federal police are not in control of the riot but information is oscillating around that the heavy military vehicles are on way from Addis Ababa. The eye witness conformed that the body of the four people who were shot dead by the federal police were seen laid down on the ground in the town of Shashamane of which a pregnant woman was amongst the three young men killed by the police.
Since the protest spilled over the streets of Oromiya in November, the region has not been stable and a new fresh violence and confrontation erupted in the towns of Aje and Shashamane to claim four lives and a number of injuries. It was last Thursday night–11 February 2016 when the violence began at the wedding ceremony in Aje, a tiny town located on the outskirt of Shashamane town, 249 km in the south east of the capital Addis Ababa.
According to residents of the town, the cadres and woreda police confronted the people who were singing at the wedding ceremony to Achalu Hundessa’s song, which they said was banned because of its volatile message of the Oromo politics. Following their surprise entry to the wedding ceremony, they started beating and harassing the youth who were singing it emotionally. The youth started to use force while confronting the police and the two cadres who later joined the dispute with aggressive manner and intimidation. According to an eye witness, the police started firing a rifle into the sky to disperse the crowd immediately after the two young men attacked the cadres in response to the attack to their OLF sentiment.
The eye witness also said that the police shot dead one of the young man who attacked the cadre for the insult he received in connection to OLF (Oromo Liberation Front). Then after, the party turned into a complete fight war zone as hundreds of the wedding guests attempted to take on the two police officers and the cadres. The violence continued to be uncontrolled and caused a number of injuries when other several police officers came in to help the police. Finally, the military was called by the police and the security and intelligence bureau of the wereda to intervene.
According to the eye witness, who requested anonymity for the sake of his safety, the military pick up Toyota arrived around 10 o’clock from the Toga military camp, found in a few kilometres between the town of Shashamane and Hawassa to disperse and clear the town beating and arresting the youth found at the wedding house. However, the eye witness said that this only worked for not more than ten hours that in the early morning of Friday, 12th February 2016, the tiny town turned violent and uncontrollably filled with thousands of young men who had sticks, sword, bayonet and spears to face the police and cadres in the town. They were seen burning down huts, vehicles and also attacking anyone whom they knew member of the ruling party or a supporter on their way up to the town of Shashamane, 14 km away.
The violence spread out in the town of Shashamane and other neighbouring towns in Asassa, Kofele and Dodola rapidly to cause several deaths and injuries. So far, the regional and the federal police are not in control of the riot but information is oscillating around that the heavy military vehicles are on way from Addis Ababa. The eye witness conformed that the body of the four people who were shot dead by the federal police were seen laid down on the ground in the town of Shashamane of which a pregnant woman was amongst the three young men killed by the police.
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