A group of armed men attacked a bus in Ethiopia earlier this week, abducting dozens of passengers in a violent incident that has left the country on edge.
Details about the attack are still emerging, and authorities have yet to confirm the full scale of the situation.
The abduction took place in Ali Doro, a location near an area where nearly 100 university students were kidnapped in a similar attack last year. Survivors and local officials had blamed that incident on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group active in the region. However, the group denied any role in the previous kidnappings.
Following this week’s attack, the OLA stated that it was aware of the incident and was conducting its own investigation. Reports suggest that the bus passengers were traveling to Debre Markos, a town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, when gunmen ambushed them and clashed with security forces. Some accounts indicate that multiple buses were targeted, and at least one person was killed. The number of people taken could be as high as 50.
The Ethiopian government has remained silent on the matter, and efforts to obtain an official response have been unsuccessful. Kidnappings have become increasingly frequent in this part of the country, with armed groups often demanding ransom payments for the release of hostages.
The OLA claims to be fighting for the rights of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo. However, the Ethiopian parliament has classified it as a terrorist organization. The group operates across several parts of Oromia, including the district where Ali Doro is located.
As the situation unfolds, families of the abducted passengers wait anxiously for news, while authorities face growing pressure to bring those responsible to justice.