Ethiopian militants kill 150 civilians

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

A total of 150 civilians were massacred in the Gida Kiramu locality in the East Wollega zone in Ethiopia's most populous regional state of Oromia, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Friday.

The attack was allegedly committed by those linked to the Oromo Liberation Front–Shene (OLA-Shene) militant group.

The commission said following the massacre that revealed the character of the ethnically motivated attack, residents launched a retaliatory strike that killed 60 people.

The attack by OLA-Shene came after security forces deployed to the area left for reasons not specified, according to the government-appointed but autonomous rights watchdog.

It said security forces were back in the area that saw some semblance of normalcy but the situation was still volatile.

It called on the government to reinforce security in the wider region to protect civilians from any more attacks.

Last month, OLA-Shene and the Tigray People's Liberation Front announced they are forming an alliance to fight the government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who came to power in April 2018.

Dubbed a terror organization by the Ethiopian parliament, the TPLF has been launching incessant attacks in the northern regional states of Amhara and Afar.