On Dec 10, 2022, a Facebook page followed by more than twenty thousand users shared an image claiming that Oromia special police forces and the Oromo Liberation Army torched and looted houses that belong to Amhara residents in the Kamashi zone of the Benishangul Gumuz region.
The post became viral and was shared close to forty times on Facebook.
However, HaqCheck found out that the picture does not support the claim. Thus, the post was rated False.
According to reports, the Ethiopian government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed organization known as Shene by the government have been fighting.
Widespread instability has been raging across the region and adjacent areas as a result of the armed conflict between the belligerents.
The continuous armed confrontation has claimed the lives of many civilians. Hundreds of people were killed and injured in the regional state of Oromia, mainly in Wollega.
The Ethiopian government and Oromia regional authorities blame the Oromo Liberation Army (OLF-Shene), while the armed group accused the government of targeting and killing civilians. Both parties trade blame for the casualties.
Recurrent conflicts and causalities have been occurring in the Kamashi zone of the Benishangul Gumuz. The zone shares borders with the Wollega zones of the Oromia regional state.
An armed conflict was recently reported in Wollega. Many civilians were killed in the latest conflict.
Over 30,000 people, including ethnic Amharas and Oromos, have been displaced as a result of the recent conflict in Wollega.
Against this backdrop, a Facebook post appeared sharing an image that depicts burning houses with a claim that the picture proves that Oromia special police forces and the Oromo Liberation Army torched and looted houses that belong to Amhara residents in the Kamashi zone of the Benishangul Gumuz region.
However, the image doesn’t prove the claim that the houses shown in the picture are Amhara houses recently destroyed by fire by armed forces from Oromia.
HaqCHeck confirmed that the image was taken from an old publication made on Dec 23, 2020. The caption attached to the original picture claimed that the image shows houses burned during a conflict in the Metekel zone of the Benishangul Gumuz.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as False.
