Residents and relatives say at least nine people were killed during an attack in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia on Thursday.
Adebebu Workineh is a resident of the Shirka Woreda — or district — in the Arsi Zone, about 250 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa. He told VOA his younger brother, Haile Workineh, was among the nine victims.
"The perpetrators called him from his house and later killed him at a nearby river alongside others," Workineh said in Amharic. Among the dead were women and elders, he added.
"During the raid I heard [about] the abduction by phone, but I thought they would ask for ransom as usual. They were carrying rifles, and we were afraid to confront them at the time," he said in Amharic.
A second resident of Shirka, who would not give his name because of fear for his safety, said most of the victims were Christians. The whereabouts of four other people who were abducted are not known, he told VOA.
Social media sites published purported video of nine bodies wrapped in white clothes being buried together.
VOA was not able to independently verify the video.
The Arsi Zone, a region known for agriculture, is now marred by violence and killing.
Residents blamed the Oromo Liberation Army, an outlawed rebel group fighting against the Ethiopian government army, for the killings.
Jiregna Gudeta, an adviser to the OLA commander, told VOA he has no detailed information about the incident and denied OLA was involved.
Residents say local authorities do little to protect civilians.
The ENAT Party, one of the opposition political parties in Ethiopia, has condemned the attack.
"Our concern is not the dead ones, we [are] reaching out to the state officers for the people who are about to be the victim of such killing, we immediately call for the state to act," said Getnet Worku, secretary-general of the party.
Oromia regional authorities declined to comment on the attack.
Peace rallies were held in six zones in the Oromia region in mid-November.
Participants of the demonstrations said the aim was to condemn OLA and demand peace in the region.
Oromia region spokesperson Hailu Adugna said at the time that the rallies were organized by the local communities and that government officials had no role. But some witnesses told VOA that government officials were urging people to participate in the demonstrations.
Jiregna, reacting to the demonstrations in mid-November, said their group is ready to resolve conflicts peacefully. He said it is doubtful whether the people or the government organized the rally for peace.
A previous round of peace talks last year between Ethiopia's federal government and the OLA in Tanzania's semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar — has failed to end the violence. The two sides blamed each other for the failure of the talks. The government cited "unrealistic demands" by the armed group while OLA accused the government of failing to address "fundamental problems" facing the country, according to Reuters.
This story originated in VOA's Horn of Africa Service.
