Today’s Mager news updates are as follows:
- Gumuz and Beni rebels working with Sudanese militants attacked Guba;
- Oromo Liberation Front/Army (OLF) forces attacked Shewa Robit, Ataye and the surrounding areas which has resulted in over 40 civilians killed and
- the Abiy regime appointed negotiations committee has begun its work.
Gumuz and Beni rebels working with Sudanese forces are planning to attack Guba Woreda (Metekel Zone, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia)
The Gumuz and Berta People’s Liberation Front which have long operated in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, are now working with Sudanese forces to attack the Terfama area of Guba Woreda (Metekel Zone, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia) and Mager Media’s sources report new attack(s) are being planned.
The rebel groups are working to attack Guba Woreda, the site of the GERD. Sources report under Sudan’s direction, an attack is being planned in the Dimazin Iresres area by the Blue Nile area where the rebel leaders have been seen, including one by the name of Shaban Mensur.
The rebel groups are now operating in the Dimazin area in Sudan, working with Sudanese forces, and are planning to invade the Anshemesh, Omedula, and Almahal Kebeles (wards) of Guba Woreda as well as neighboring kebeles.
Mager Media has previously reported on how these rebel forces have repeatedly perpetrated heinous attacks targeting Amhara communities dwelling in various zones and woredas of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.
Since early June 2022 (end of Ginbot 2014 EC), there has been a curfew implemented throughout the various zones of the region. The restrictions were implemented following attacks by the rebels which resulted in mass deaths in Mijiga Woreda.
OLF have attacked the Ataye, Shewa Robit and surrounding areas killing more than 40 people
Earlier this week, the OLF army opened fire, razing and terrorism in areas in/near the North Shewa and Oromo Special Zones of Amhara Region, starting with Shewa Robit and Ataye and then in the Arso Amba Zembo, Efrata Gidim and Jile Timuga areas, according to what residents told Mager Media.
Throughout the woredas, as a result of the siege opened by the OLF army, more than 40 residents and Amhara Special Forces members were killed, many people were wounded, 4 menders (towns) were completely burned down and many residents were displaced according to sources.
Compared to the last week, although the situation seems to have calmed down, the OLF army continues to operate within the North Shewa Zone according to residents who expressed concerns for their safety.
In relation to this, the Amhara Popular Force (Fano) issued a statement regarding the July 10 and 11, 2022 (Hamle 3 and 4, 2014 EC) attacks on the Amhara people in the Efrata and Gidim Woreda of North Shewa Zone, specifically that a large number of ASF members were martyred in a conspiratorial manner as they attempted to protect locals, and that a large number sustained injuries ranging from light to critical.
In this statement, the message that was relayed to the ASF membership and leaders was:- to the ASF officials and members, for your efforts and sacrifice for the Amhara people and in service of the existential threat faced by the Amhara people, we thank you, and our primary enemies who want to erase us using the organization known as Amhara Prosperity:
- you must understand that there is an effort to pit Fano against their brothers to fulfill their dream of dismantling the Amhara peoples’ defensive capabilities, and
- you must focus on your principles and avoid alliances with political leaders;
- we call on you to mind the conspiracies against you and utilize your military structure to organize accordingly in light of the ASF being exposed to extreme danger with incomplete information by political leaders with backing of leaders and logistical support.
The call issued to members of Amhara Fano in the area was as follows:- we have great respect for your efforts in preventing greater damage from reaching the ASF and all Fano leaders and members must utilize a wise and cautious approach, working with the ASF to spoil our enemies’ plot against us.
The negotiations committee led by the Abiy-led OPDO Prosperity Government to negotiate with the terrorist TPLF has started work
The negotiations committee appointed by Abiy-led OPDO [Oromo People’s Democratic Organization; now known as the Oromo Prosperity Party] Prosperity Government to negotiate with the terrorist TPLF has begun work yesterday, on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 (Hamle 6, 2014 EC) by holding its first meeting.
The terrorist TPLF expressed its willingness to participate in negotiations while expressing its lack of trust in the African Union’s Special Envoy, former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, and instead preferred to undergo negotiations with mediation from a delegation led and hosted by the Kenyan Government.
The Abiy-led OPDO Prosperity Government has repeatedly insisted that the negotiations should proceed under the mediation of the African Union. The documentation provided by Abiy Ahmed’s national security advisor, Ambassador Redwan Hussein regarding the committee meeting also reflected this fact. The Ambassador wrote, “the negotiations will be led by the African Union under its own practice and ethics” and described the initiative as, “the choosing peace Abiy committee” but did not clearly describe the outcome of the meeting held by the delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen.
Regarding the negotiations, various opposition parties, parliament members, and political analysts have emphasized the need to include all communities in the matter (which was not done), consult various parties and have long raised such questions.
Despite the terrorist TPLF is perpetrating attacks against various fronts in Amhara Region, mobilizing large number of armed troops, the ruling OPDO Prosperity regime expressed that it decided to resolve the war through peaceful means, for which it announced the negotiating group two weeks ago.
