Ethiopian police accused of “ethnic cleansing” in Dollo region, Somali State

JIGJIGA—A dawn police operation last week at Daresalam town in the Wardere region, Somali Regional State of Ethiopia has been termed as an act of violence “that amounts to ethnic cleansing and borders on genocide.”

Speaking at a press conference in Garissa on Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed Abdi Dahir, an elder flanked by his peers, accused the local government led by President Mustafa Omar of committing human right abuses through the local administration headed by Mubarak Mohamed.

“The town with over 100 wells is inhabitable, basic amenities are lacking and the indiscrimate killings of the locals continues,” he said.

Sheikh Dahir added: “Residents are not feeling safe while thousands of them including women and children have sought refuge in the neighbouring towns.”

Sheikh Mohamed Dahir during a press conference in Garissa

The community elders called on the Ethiopian government to order the violence to a halt and investigate the incident.

“The perpetrators of the violence must be brought to book including the commanders and the area officials for gross right abuses,” Sheikh Dahir further said. Daresalaam town is located close to 60 kilometers from Wardher city, the capital of Dholo region of Somali State.

According to local sources, more than 1,500 federal police officers on routine patrol diverted their route and launched a security operation on Daresalam. The incident happened on Wednesday, June 21st at dawn.

The police unit suspected of carrying out the operation are stationed along the border with Somalia.

“The mandate of the federal border police is to secure the border and not to carry out impromptu morning operations in civilian areas,” Mohamed Nuh, a local elder told Kulan Post over the phone.

The residents believe the police was “wrongfully informed of armed forces living in Daresalam” by another clan they’re in conflict with over management of a key water point.

Unconfirmed reports indicate hundreds were rounded up and have been in detention since Wednesday.

The Ethiopian Federal Police declined to respond to the reports of the violent incident by the time of publishing this story.

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“The Somali region, a strategically important border area between Somalia and Ethiopia, has been the site of over a decade of widespread abuses against civilians, both by the Ethiopian army and by the Liyu police force,” a Human Rights report in 2018 said in part.

It added that “Scrutiny of developments in the region has been severely limited since 2007. Access for journalists, aid organizations, human rights groups, and other independent monitors is restricted.”