The civilian population not only became the victims of the Ethiopian army but also became a victim of the zones commander. According to Peter(1987), the zones commander when came to collected money from the local population through taxes, fines and donations; some commanders even accumulated property for themselves by confiscating cattle and other property from the people they rule. This was inherited from Hamid Idris Awate who committed crimes against the Kunma people. As a legacy of this, the crimes against innocent civialan also continue by both the ELF and EPLF in the 1960s and 1970s to mention a few examples: In the 1960s the Red Sea Afar people also became victims of the ELF leaders, according to Afar Forum, many civilians mostly innocent children, the elderly and women were mass murdered and buried in a barbaric manner at a place called Nabro. That was the response the people got from the so called “liberators”. Afar Forum adds that. Some of the blind measures taken by the so called political groups are:-The Ramlo (Ar’anu) forced genocide in 1968 by ELF; The 1974 direct and indirect mass killings by ELF and The 1968 genocide by the EPLF in 1968 in a place called Bori Asela.Source Destructive strategies of the EPLF regimeMegesteab (2005: 43) also states that fifty Christian peasants were also executed at the behest of the ELF leadership . Another version of this story between 15 and 25 civilians were killed by the ELF in Shimbare, they were killed by vigilante off duty tegadelti of ELF, who were thought to be avenging after their village was burned by Ethiopian soldiers. (Araya 2005). Year 1967, the nightmare at Karkasha village: where Jebha forces, burnt to the ground, half of Karkasha village, including this writer’s family house and property; beat up the inhabitants of Karkasha and labelling them as “jawasis” meaning spies. Deliberately they set fire in a house, killing all 7 members of the same family. By then Karkasha was not an Ethiopian garrison. In fact, on that fateful day, it was Jabha’s temporary “difa or trench” to ambush the Ethiopian mobile forces, on Shambako/Barentu line, to hit and run. So why did they burn the village, property and human lives? Well, just hatred, discrimination and racism. Read more Furthermore, Human Rights Watch 1991:48, states that in 1971, 52 civilian villagers were burned to death in their huts in a village name Debre Sila by the ELF for non-payment of the ELF demands (Human Rights Watch1991:48). There was also another story on March7, 1971, the ELF plundered the village of Halib Menal, stealing many cattle, after the villagers had killed two ELF fighters while resisting an ELF attempt to occupy the village two day before. Individuals who failed to protect ELF property entrusted to them were also summarily executed. The ELF leadership should be blamed for the death of civilians who were killed by the ELF fighters (tegadelti)ehrea.org/missing.php
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 00:34:13 +0000
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