On 22 March 2021, Albe Madana Ganasha, a Facebook user with more than 5000 friends, posted a photo of armed men and three people tied with a rope to a pole. The text written in Amharic reads, “If the government has the power, It should fix the situation and calm the country! A country without a leader is ugly! It is boring !! This is the injustice of Wollo!!”. However, HaqCheck interrogated the post and confirmed that the image did not show people being killed in Wollo and rated it as FALSE.
There are Reports of an armed conflict broke out around areas bordering Northern Shoa, Ataye, and Oromia special administrative zone, Jile Timuga, since 19 March 2021. One of the reasons for the conflict is the death of one person due to a conflict between two people on 18 March 2021. As reports say, the conflict is becoming out of control and spreading to other parts of the area. In a statement given by the Amhara regional state on 21 March 2021, the regional state blamed the OLF Shene armed groups and their supporters for the death of innocent people and damaged properties in the conflict.
However, a reverse image search of the picture used in the Facebook post shows that the image was taken on 29 Nov 2020. The photo was circulating in different Somali news outlets saying the three people in the picture tied to a pole were members of the terrorist group Alshabab. They confessed their terrorist act in front of the Somali military court. The reports show that the picture was taken around General Kahiye police academy in Mogadishu, Somalia. The armed people wearing uniforms in the second picture show the military force executing the death penalty the terrorists were sentenced.
Granted, there has been armed conflict in the Northern Shoa zone since 19 March 2021. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the Facebook post and confirmed that the picture doesn’t show people being killed in Wollo, therefore rendered the post FALSE due to usage of inaccurate images to support the claim.
Fact checked by: Endalkachew Teka
Edited by: Rehobot Ayalew
The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact-checking initiative, which its R&D Department runs.
