Following the wide circulation of a video showing an alleged beheading on social media, the Federation of Amharas in North America (FANA) has firmly condemned PM Abiy Ahmed’s regime for using propaganda to instigate further violence between Amhara and Oromo people in Ethiopia.
FANA, in its press statement, has labeled the recent video, which shows the alleged beheading of a young man, as a “barbaric action” and a continuous trend of using such tactics to expose Amharas for ethnic-based violence throughout Ethiopia.
“Forensic experts and social media analysts have identified this video as staged, confirming it is part of a broader smear campaign against Amhara Fano.”
FANA has accused PM Abiy Ahmed of leading the so-called “Gachena Sirana, Herpe, Shenne”, which they call “secret squads” including the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) to commit kidnapping and other crimes against Amhara.
They said the beheaded young man is “identified as Amhara and kidnapped by one of the many secret squads of the regime.”
“While under torture, the victim identified himself as being non-Oromo, further revealing the staged murder to create a chasm between Amhara and Oromo people and incite violence on Amhara civilians living in the Oromia Region,” FANA underscored.
Neither TOE nor other independent organizations have independently investigated the alleged incident.
Who is responsible/accountable?
Following the video’s circulation on social media on Wednesday, November 20, 202, a consortium of Amhara Fano, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA-OLF), and the Ethiopian government have accused one another in their press releases.
Legesse Tulu, Ethiopia’s Minster of Government Communication Service, and Hailu Adugna, Head of the Oromia Communication Bureau, accused both the Amhara Fano militias and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA-OLF), over the alleged beheading of the young man in Dera Wereda(district) of Oromia region without detailing the investigation results.
A consortium of Amhara Fano has condemned the alleged beheading of the young man and accused the regime of war crimes and inciting violence between Ethiopian people and condemns some media and political organizations for orchestrating the regime’s gruesome propaganda.
OLA-OLF, in its part, has condemned the regime for using the incident to instigate horizontal conflict with Amhara militias and incite inter-communal violence between the Amhara and Oromo people. It has also announced that the incident in which a video showing the beheading of the young man (Dejene Amare) happened 2 months ago.
On February 23, 2024, Reuters, in its investigation report, revealed that a secretive committee, known as Koree Nageenyaa headed by Shimelis Abdisa, the president of Oromia region, meets at offices of Abiy’s Prosperity Party to order extra-judicial killings and illegal detentions to crush an insurgency in the country.
