A Twitter account with over a thousand followers shared two pictures and a cartoon image on Nov 8, 2022, claiming that the images show a recent aerial strike in the town of Mendi, in Wallagga, Oromia. The tweet was shared many times and got close to two hundred reactions on the platform.
However, HaqCheck cross-checked the authenticity of the pictures and confirmed that the images don’t prove the claim. Thus, the post was rated Partly False.
There has been an armed conflict between the Ethiopian federal government and the Oromo Liberation Army, commonly known by the government as Shane in the Oromia regional state.
News reports indicate that there was an ongoing fighting between the belligerents in Oromia region since recently.
Media outlets reported that there was an airstrike on Nov 9, 2022 by the Ethiopian government in the town of Mendi, Oromia. As a result many civilians were killed during the aerial attack.
Against this backdrop, a Twitter post came out on Nov 9, 2022 sharing two pictures and a cartoon image with a claim that a recent drone attack killed civilians in Mendi town of Oromia.
However, HaqCheck cross-checked the images and confirmed that the images don’t support the claim.
The first picture was taken from a Facebook post made on Jan 18, 2020. The post claimed that it shows an Uzbekistani fighter jet conducting exercise.
But, HaqCheck could not verify whether the second picture is old or new. The picture is taken from a video clip that was recently circulating on Twitter.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Twitter post Partly False due to its usage of an inaccurate image.
