Wazema Daily News, Feb 22
Heavy fighting between the Ethiopian government troops and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) took place in North Shewa zone, Oromia region.
1) Heavy fighting between the Ethiopian government troops and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) took place in Hidebu Abote woreda (district) North Shewa zone, Oromia region, early on Thursday, Wazema has learnt. Sources said the fighting took place around Ejere town, the administrative seat of the woreda, and around the East Cement Factory. A source said he was aware of the death of one civilian in the crossfire till midday. Wazema learnt that the fighting started when the rebels attempted to enter Ejere town. That was not the first time the rebel group attempted capturing the town.
2) The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) announced that two of its Landcruiser vehicles were forcibly taken by armed men at Asteroye Mariam, 30km from Motta town, East Gojjam zone, Amhara region, on February 14. The vehicles were en route to South and North Gondar zones for a humanitarian mission, the association said. The association stressed that it won't be responsible for any activity undertaken by using the seized vehicles, and called on the gunmen to return them. It also revealed that one of its vehicles was attacked by gunmen near Korem town while on the way to Sekota town of Wag Hemra zone, Amhara region, on February 17. There were no casualties. The association has decried the repeated attacks on its vehicles and staff, saying they were making its humanitarian work difficult. The association also appealed to all the warring parties to ensure the "protection of its vehicles and humanitarian staff".
3) The Ethiopian Orthodox Church said the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) killed four of its fathers (clergy) at Ziquala Debre Kewakibt Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus Monastery in East Shewa, Oromia region, on Wednesday. In a statement, the church said OLA gunmen abducted the clergy from the monastery on Monday and killed them in the bush. The victims were the Reverend Teklemariam Asrat, the head of the monastery, the Reverend Kidanemariam Tilahun, the secretary of the monastery, the Reverend Gebremariam Abebe, a religious teacher and priest, and Hailemariam Woldesenbet, a monk who was living in the monastery. The Reverend Kidanemariam Gebresenbet was injured in the attack and was still in the monastery, the statement pointed out. The church appealed to the Federal and the Oromia regional governments to protect the monastery from another attack by the rebels. Ziquala is one of the church's ancient monasteries.
4) The Amhara State Council Thursday removed the immunity of one of its members, Yohanmes Buayalew, who is in a Federal prison. Yohannes was arrested by the Federal security forces in August last year in connection with the state of emergency declared in Amhara region. He was detained in Awash Arba military training camp in the northern Afar region for several months before recently being transferred to the Federal Crime Investigation Bureau in Addis Ababa. The Federal and the regional constitutions prohibit arresting the elected regional and Federal MPs before their immunity is removed.
5) Ethiopian Airlines will, beginning next Monday, resume flights to the western city of Dembi Dollo, the administrative seat of Qelem Wollega zone, Oromia region, Wazema has learnt. Weekly flights by the national carrier to the city have been suspended for several years due to armed conflicts between government troops and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and damage to the airport's runway. According to sources, the airline has already started selling tickets for next week's flights. The airline plans to have three flights weekly to the city, the sources said, adding that it will increase them to seven weekly in due course. The plan to resume flights comes after improvement in the security in the area and the completion of maintenance on the runway.
6) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held discussions with the representatives of all zonal administrations of Oromia region on Thursday in his office. The Prime Minister’s office disclosed in a social media post that the discussion focused on the current situation of the region amid the ongoing armed confrontations between government troops and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). The zonal representatives raised issues such as peace, security and development, and the Prime Minister addressed them, the office stated. The discussion was a continuation of the talks between the Federal, the regional and party officials and the representatives of various sections of the society last week in several towns of the region.
7) Ethiopian Permanent Mission to the UN said Wednesday it was "extremely disappointed" with the speech of Somalia's Permanent Representative to the UN to the Security Council last week. In a statement, the Ethiopian mission accused the Somali Permanent Representative of peddling "false information", which it said was a continuation of an "unjustifiable accusation" by the Mogadishu officials. The mission underscored that Ethiopia's sea access Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the breakaway Somaliland was "neither unprecedented nor contrary to international practices", adding that Ethiopia was "ready for dialogue" with Somalia on bilateral terms. At the Security Council meeting that discussed the matter, the Somali envoy had labelled the MoU a "declaration of war".
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