The attacks occurred between May 31 and June 3, coinciding with voting in Ethiopia’s parliamentary elections on June 1, which the OLA had previously threatened to disrupt. While authorities confirmed the incidents and blamed the insurgent group, they did not provide an official casualty figure.

Witnesses in Arsi zone told AFP that OLA fighters attacked the village of Eleta Chefa on multiple occasions, killing residents and forcing thousands to flee. Two residents said they personally knew 11 people who were killed during the assaults.

A medical worker who treated victims from several affected communities said he had counted 56 deaths and approximately 50 injuries linked to attacks across multiple localities during the four-day period. The figures could not be independently verified because access to conflict-affected areas remains heavily restricted and official information has been limited.

One survivor said armed militants used rifles to target residents, adding that Orthodox Christians, whom attackers allegedly viewed as sympathetic to the federal government, were among those targeted. He also said Muslims who attempted to protect their neighbors came under attack.

The witness estimated that as many as 3,000 people, including women, children and elderly residents, fled the area following the violence. Another resident said Eleta Chefa was attacked twice, on May 31 and June 1, and reported extensive destruction of homes, crops and livestock.

The medical worker said many displaced residents remained scattered across forests, churches and relatives’ homes, complicating humanitarian assistance efforts. He described treating injuries caused by rifle fire, heavy weapons and sharp-edged weapons.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office issued a statement on Friday expressing condolences to victims and their families, while reaffirming the government’s position that the attacks were carried out by the OLA.

The OLA rejected accusations of responsibility in a statement posted on X, instead accusing government authorities of fueling communal violence in the region.

The violence highlights the continuing instability in parts of Oromia despite the federal government’s broader efforts to consolidate control following years of conflict across Ethiopia. The OLA, which the government has designated a terrorist organization, has expanded significantly since 2018 and remains one of the country’s most active insurgent movements.

Although the group is not considered capable of threatening the federal government directly, it has repeatedly been linked to deadly attacks and insecurity across Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest regional state.

Official election results have yet to be announced, though Prime Minister Abiy’s Prosperity Party is widely expected to secure another commanding victory, extending its dominance of Ethiopian politics despite ongoing security concerns in several parts of the country.

The Bamy Hotel on Bioko Island, owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has housed at least 32 deportees since late 2025, many of whom had previously received protection orders from U.S. immigration judges, the report said. Most have since been deported to African countries they fled, despite fears of persecution.

Migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola and Mauritania described psychological pressure, restricted movement and uncertainty over their fate while being held inside the largely empty hotel. Several detainees told AP they feared imprisonment or death if returned home.

The Trump administration has expanded third-country deportation agreements with developing nations as part of its immigration crackdown. Rights advocates argue the policy circumvents asylum protections by transferring migrants to countries with poor human rights records.

Washington declined to comment on details of the arrangement with Equatorial Guinea, while the State Department said it remained committed to ending “illegal and mass immigration.” Equatorial Guinea’s government did not respond to requests for comment

.
The oil-rich Central African nation, ruled by Obiang for more than four decades, has long faced criticism from rights groups and U.S. officials over allegations of corruption, repression and abuses against dissidents.

At Jemo Health Centre on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, health worker Tewodros Tibebu says social stigma and limited awareness continue to delay access to comprehensive abortion care, despite Ethiopia legalizing broad abortion services more than two decades ago.

Tibebu, who has worked in comprehensive abortion care for four years, is among only three trained providers currently delivering the service at the facility. According to his account, many patients arrive after significant delays, often seeking help only after complications emerge from procedures carried out elsewhere.

“The biggest challenge is stigma,” Tibebu said in a feature published by the World Health Organization on May 5. “Many women are afraid someone will recognize them when they come here. Others do not even know the service exists.”Comprehensive abortion care has reportedly been available at Jemo Health Centre for nearly a decade.

However, Tibebu said access barriers remain widespread, particularly for women seeking confidential and medically supervised treatment.According to his account, many patients first visit private clinics where procedures may be carried out by practitioners lacking formal training in abortion care. By the time some women reach public facilities such as Jemo, they are already suffering from infections or sepsis that could have been prevented through earlier medical intervention.

Ethiopia expanded legal access to abortion in 2005 under revised provisions that allowed the procedure under broader circumstances than previously permitted. Despite the legal framework, health care providers and reproductive health organizations have continued to report uneven access across regions, driven by social stigma, provider shortages and gaps in public awareness.

Tibebu said the stigma surrounding abortion services affects providers as well as patients. “Some coworkers oppose the comprehensive abortion care department,” he said. “Some people in my community do not know what I do.”The social pressures attached to abortion care are a recurring issue in reproductive health systems globally, particularly in countries where legal reforms have outpaced shifts in public attitudes or health infrastructure.

Health workers often face professional isolation, ethical scrutiny and personal criticism while providing services that remain politically and culturally contested.Tibebu said professional training helped him better understand both the clinical and ethical dimensions of abortion care. “Before, it was difficult,” he said.

“After I received specific training, I understood the work differently and could provide the care women need.”The experiences described by Tibebu formed part of a broader announcement by the Human Reproduction Programme, known as HRP, regarding a new international training initiative on comprehensive abortion care.

The programme, launched through the WHO Academy platform, combines four separate learning modules focused on medical abortion, surgical abortion, post-abortion care and human rights integration in comprehensive abortion care. According to HRP, the courses are designed to provide modular and interactive learning environments that simulate real clinical decision-making scenarios encountered by frontline health workers.

WHO said the training initiative is intended to strengthen evidence-based care and improve consistency in abortion services across different health systems. The programme also places emphasis on privacy, non-discrimination and accountability within clinical practice.

The human rights integration component links medical treatment with broader principles related to patient dignity and access to care, according to WHO. Together, the courses are intended to establish a standardized framework for providers working in comprehensive abortion care settings.The launch reflects continuing international efforts by global health organizations to reduce preventable maternal complications associated with unsafe abortion procedures.

WHO has repeatedly stated in policy guidance that access to trained providers, accurate information and safe clinical environments are central to reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.At facilities such as Jemo Health Centre, providers say the gap between legal availability and practical access remains significant.

Tibebu noted that many patients learn about the service only through informal networks and word-of-mouth referrals rather than official health campaigns or referrals from primary care systems.That reliance on informal communication channels, he said, contributes to delays that can worsen medical outcomes.

The WHO feature also highlighted the operational pressures facing providers in facilities with limited staffing. With only three trained workers handling abortion care services at Jemo, workloads remain concentrated among a small number of clinicians.

Training programmes such as the one launched by HRP are intended in part to address those shortages by expanding provider knowledge and strengthening clinical capacity. WHO said the interactive nature of the courses allows health workers to engage with practical decision points similar to those encountered during patient care.

The organization has increasingly used digital and modular learning systems to expand access to specialized medical training, particularly in lower-resource health settings where formal clinical education opportunities may be limited.Tibebu said the training reinforced his understanding of abortion care not only as a technical medical service but also as direct patient support during periods of vulnerability and medical risk.

“People may not understand what we do,” he said. “But when you think about the woman in front of you, the decision is clear. You are helping someone.”WHO separately announced a webinar linked to the comprehensive abortion care learning programme scheduled for April 28, 2026.

The organization also published updated abortion-related fact sheets in December 2025 as part of its broader reproductive health guidance materials.The HRP programme operates jointly under the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, WHO and the World Bank, focusing on research, policy development and training in human reproduction and reproductive health services.

The Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said its analysis of satellite imagery and open-source data showed activity “consistent with military assistance” to the RSF at a base in Asosa, in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, between late December 2025 and late March 2026.The RSF has been engaged in a conflict with Sudan’s army since April 2023.

Sudan’s military had previously accused Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks to be launched from its territory, an allegation Addis Ababa has denied, along with claims it hosts RSF camps.

According to the HRL report, researchers identified repeated arrivals of commercial car carriers at the Asosa base unloading “technicals,” light pickup trucks commonly used by armed groups.

These vehicles were later observed supplying RSF units operating in Sudan’s Blue Nile state.The report said some vehicles were subsequently fitted with mounts capable of carrying heavy machine guns, while objects consistent with .50-calibre weapons were also detected nearby.

Similar vehicles later appeared in open-source imagery from fighting around Al-Kurmuk, a strategic border town approximately 100 km from Asosa.HRL also documented increased logistical activity at the base, including the arrival of shipping containers, fuel tanks and tents capable of housing up to 150 personnel.

Satellite imagery showed expansion at Asosa airport, including a new hangar, concrete pad and defensive positions. The site had previously been used as a drone base.

The findings come as fighting intensifies in Blue Nile state, where an estimated 28,000 people have been displaced this year, including more than 10,000 from Al-Kurmuk alone.

Control of the region remains divided between Sudan’s army and RSF-aligned forces from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

The Horn-of-Africa nation is turning to renewable energy to boost electricity coverage, which stood at 50% of the population in 2020 according to the World Bank, leaving 60 million people outside of the grid.

The Aysha wind farm will be located on 18,000 acres of land, the ministry said in a statement, and it will create 2,000 jobs during the construction and operational phases.

Dubai-based AMEA Power focuses on renewable energy projects across Africa, the Middle East and other emerging markets.

Ethiopia already hosts two smaller wind power projects in its Oromiya and Tigray regions. The Aysha project will be Ethiopia’s biggest wind power generation plant when it is completed, the finance ministry said.

The negotiations come more than six months after a first round of discussions between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and Ethiopia’s government ended without an agreement.

The conflict in recent years has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands in Ethiopia’s most populous region.

“We remain committed to finding a peaceful political settlement,” the OLA said in its statement.

The OLA said it had delayed announcing the negotiations to make sure its team could get safely from what it called the frontlines in Oromiya to the venue.

An official close to the mediators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks started last week in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, and is being facilitated by the regional Africa group IGAD.

Ethiopia’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The OLA is an outlawed splinter group of the Oromo Liberation Front, a formerly banned opposition party that returned from exile after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – himself an Oromo – took office in 2018.

Oromiya, which surrounds Addis Ababa, the capital, is home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic Oromo group and more than a third of the country’s 110 million people.

The talks come as conflict rages on another faultline in Ethiopia, with fighting between the army and the Fano militia group in the mediaeval holy city of Lalibela last week, residents told Reuters. The government said the area was peaceful.

While Fano has no formal command structure, the part-time militia in northern Amhara region has been battling the army since late July, emerging as the biggest security challenge to Abiy since a war ended in the northern Tigray region a year ago.

Ethiopia’s chief negotiator, Seleshi Bekele, acknowledged that constructive ideas were exchanged on various outstanding issues during the talks. He emphasized Ethiopia’s commitment to continuing the negotiations despite the lack of a breakthrough. However, Egypt’s water ministry placed blame on Ethiopia, accusing it of being “opposed to any compromise.” Egypt expressed concerns over the failure to reach an agreement, emphasizing the need to protect its water security and national interests.

Discussions surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have been ongoing for years. The controversial $4.6 billion project, which began construction in 2011, aims to generate over 6,000 megawatts of electricity, doubling Ethiopia’s current output and potentially making it a net energy exporter. Ethiopia considers the dam vital for its development, while downstream Egypt, with a population of 100 million, fears that it will reduce its share of the Nile water, which is crucial for its water needs.

Approximately 85 percent of the Nile River’s flow originates from the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. However, under decades-old agreements dating back to the British colonial era, Egypt has received the majority of the Nile’s waters. Sudan, also downstream from the Blue Nile, has sought a deal to regulate the amount of water Ethiopia will release during significant droughts.

Negotiations recommenced in August after a long hiatus, with Ethiopia and Egypt aiming to reach a deal by November. Earlier this month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the completion of the final phase of filling the dam’s reservoir.

During the United Nations General Assembly, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry expressed concerns about Egypt’s water scarcity issues and criticized Ethiopia for beginning construction without consulting other Nile states. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, in his UN address, asserted that the dam represents the legitimate development aspirations of Ethiopians and emphasized its potential to enhance regional integration and prosperity.

On Monday, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry acknowledged the legitimacy of concerns raised by Egypt and Sudan but underscored the need to protect Ethiopia’s rights in the matter.

The failure to reach an agreement in the latest talks raises concerns about the ongoing dispute over the GERD and highlights the pressing need for further negotiations to find a mutually acceptable resolution. The Nile River’s waters are vital for the economic and social well-being of the countries involved, and a comprehensive agreement is crucial to ensuring stability and cooperation in the region.

Mogadishu (AP) — Scores of Somalis fleeing violence in Sudan arrived in their Horn of Africa nation on Sunday, an official said.

Some 148 Somali nationals, mostly students, arrived by plane in the capital Mogadishu, said Abdurahman Nur Mohamed Diinaari, a top official with the Somali foreign ministry.

“Through the assistance of the International Organization for Migration, Somalia’s foreign ministry has finally been able to relocate 148 Somalis from Sudan to Somalia today,” he said.

The Somalis had traveled by land from Sudan to Ethiopia and then onward by air to Somalia. Forty-five of those who arrived Sunday were later transported to Garowe, the administrative capital of the Somali state of Puntland, Diinaari said.

Somalia itself has been plagued by violence for years. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which opposes the federal government, frequently launches deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

One of the Somalis evacuated on Sunday said in an interview that she was happy to be alive and back in her country.

“I am pleased that I have finally arrived in my country. However, what we have been through is unusual and hard to describe, but I am grateful for the opportunity to survive,” Ramlo Mohamed, one of the evacuees, told AP. “I pray in the meantime for God to assist our Muslim brothers in Sudan in alleviating their plight.”

There were an estimated 7,000 Somali nationals in Sudan before violence broke out earlier this month, most of them attending universities there. Others are business people and migrants hoping to reach Europe, according to Ewa Naqvi, deputy chief of mission of the U.N. migration agency.

The fighting in Sudan pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum, the capital.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

The Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties in the violence, said Sunday that over the past two weeks 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Tigray (AFP) — Authorities in Ethiopia’s rebel-held Tigray region announced Sunday they would respect a ceasefire as fighting intensified in the country’s war-torn north, and the African Union called for an immediate truce.

Dalia Ziada

Adding the religious component to this ugly dispute is a very dangerous gamble that the Ethiopian government need to stop playing.

The Ethiopian government is purposefully involving religious rhetoric into justifying its technical dispute over the Nile River with Egypt and Sudan. The reasons why Abiy Ahmed government decided to Islamize the Nile River conflict, by employing government loyalist Muslim imams to promote a political agenda, in a Christian majority society, are worth exploring.

For years, the Ethiopian government of Abiy Ahmed has been promoting the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as a nationalist cause. The government’s unrealistic rhetoric around the political and economic benefits that GERD may incur to the Ethiopian nation is serving the political interests of the ruling elite. On one hand, it justifies the huge spending on the building of the dam, while the Ethiopian people are struggling with a drowning economy. On the other hand, it provides Abiy Ahmed with a cover to his atrocities against civilians in Tigray and his failure in managing the border conflict with Sudan. In addition, this fanatic nationalist rhetoric is serving the purpose of mobilizing the Ethiopian citizens to vote for Abiy Ahmed and his affiliate politicians, in the current general elections, despite their proven failure in running state affairs and Ethiopia’s deteriorating relations with its neighbors.

Unfortunately, the diplomatic negotiations over the Nile River conflict between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, which has been running for over a decade, hit a deadlock in April. Egypt is the downstream country, while Ethiopia is geographically located where the river springs, and Sudan geographically stands in the Middle. Egypt and Sudan object the building of GERD on the Blue Nile because it affects their share in the water of the river. Government propagandists, in the Ethiopian media, unfairly portray Egypt as an aggressor on Ethiopia’s sovereignty for merely trying to get Ethiopia to sign a binding agreement that protects downstream countries from the potential abuse of GERD by the current or future Ethiopian governments.

For the international audience, Ethiopia justifies the building of the dam by the need to generate electricity for about 65% of the population. For the local audience, the Ethiopian government promotes a strange lie, supported by religious leaders, that the Nile is a gift from God to Ethiopia, and thus Ethiopia is the legitimate solo owner of the Nile. In that sense, they claim that Ethiopia can hold the water behind a dam to sell it later to other countries and become rich, the same way Arab Gulf countries profited from selling the oil discovered in their geographic territories.

After the failure of negotiations in April, Egypt and Sudan started to seriously think about going to war with Ethiopia. In March, Egypt signed a military cooperation agreement with Sudan, followed by a joint military exercise at Merwoe military base, in southern Sudan, close to Ethiopian GERD. In late May, Egypt and Sudan conducted another military exercise, in southern Sudan, under the title “Nile Protectors” wherein Egypt deployed land forces and advanced aviation equipment to deter Ethiopia from resuming with filling the dam, which was scheduled to take place, in early June. Meanwhile, Egypt signed other military cooperation agreements with Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi.

Amidst the heated political and military tensions, leaders of the Ethiopian Muslim community, have been actively producing fatwas (religious advices) to mobilize the Muslim citizens to support the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). In March, Sheikh Haji Omar Idris, the Grand Mufti of Ethiopia, made up a fatwa claiming that Ethiopia is the God-assigned owner of the Nile water, and accordingly Egypt has no right to ask for using the water that springs outside of its geographic area.

“The Egyptians say that they are affected by Ethiopia’s use of the Nile water. This is not fair and is against the teachings of Islamic Sharia”, advised Sheikh Haji Omar Idris, the Grand Mufti of Ethiopia and the President of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council. “Sharia has proven that the country in which the water springs, must benefit from it, then give what exceeds its needs to its neighbors, if it desires to”. During the prayers of Eid Al-Fitr, in May, several Ethiopian youths showed up carrying slogans and banners reading that it is Ethiopia’s Allah-given right to block and sell the water of the Nile.

Idris based his misleading fatwa on a saying by Prophet Muhammed. However, the Egyptian Fatwa House (Dar Al-Iftaa), in May, refuted such claims and published a prophetic saying confirming that naturally flowing water cannot be owned by anyone, as it is a common share among all humans. Then, on June 12th, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, seized the opportunity of his participation in the United Nations Environment Day, to indirectly comment on the Nile River conflict.

“Environment is in crisis, because of those tampering with Allah’s creations and lands… It is inappropriate to let an individual or a country practice monopoly over natural resources and deprive others from getting access to these resources”, said the Grand Imam in his UN speech. “Water, in its comprehensive concept, is a natural resource that is treated as a common property to all humans, according to the teachings of all religions, not only Islam. No one can exclusively own a water resource. Depriving others from benefiting from natural resources is an act of oppression and aggression on Allah’s provisions”, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb added, calling upon respective local, regional, and international bodies to appropriately intervene to stop such manipulation that is expected to harm humans and the Planet Earth.

Al-Azhar is the highest religious authority in the Muslim world. While the Grand Imam’s message was widely applauded by the Egyptian and Arab audience, some western audience could not understand the background story that pushed a senior religious scholar to comment on a geopolitical conflict. In fact, Al-Azhar’s comment is a necessary reaction to the shameful abuse of religion by the Ethiopian government to justify endangering the lives of tens of millions of humans in downstream countries by building a dam on the upstream of the Blue Nile.

It is strange to see the Ethiopian Muslim leaders, who have always been keeping a low-profile, all of a sudden involved in public activities and commenting on geopolitical issues. But there is a reason for that. They are paying back the favor to Abiy Ahmed. For decades, the Muslim citizens in Ethiopia suffered from marginalization, discrimination, and persecution on the hands of the government and other religious groups, especially during the communist era of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Ethiopian Muslims have been denied basic rights to declare their religious identity or practice their religious ceremonies and prayers in public. That is despite their relatively large percentage as a religious group. Muslims in Ethiopia, who represent nearly 35% of the population; are the second-largest religious community in the country.

Only in January 2020, Abiy Ahmed government recognized the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, after sixty years of working as an outlawed civil society organization. This provided Muslim citizens with a relief as they have become free to show their identity and celebrate their religion. This is a move that Abiy Ahmed government should be applauded for. However, on the flip side, it seems that Abiy Ahmed had another strategic goal from empowering the Muslim community amidst his quest to continue with the GERD project.

Recognizing and empowering the Muslim community, first brought the Muslim community to support Abiy Ahmed rather than joining the opposition against him. They are now part of his propaganda machine, mobilizing millions of Muslim citizens to support the government decisions and vote for Abiy Ahmed’s favorite politicians in elections. Second, Abiy Ahmed is employing the politicized religious rhetoric of his Imams to confuse the public citizens in Muslim-majority countries, Egypt and Sudan, regarding the legitimacy of the stances of their governments on the Nile conflict. Most of the misleading fatwas issued by Ethiopian Imams, in relation to GERD, are published in Arabic; not in English or Swahili or Amharic.

The Nile River conflict has become too complicated and almost impossible to resolve through regular diplomatic means. Adding the religious component to this ugly dispute is a very dangerous gamble that the Ethiopian government need to stop playing. This does not only threaten the security of Ethiopia, but also provides a new tool for terrorist organizations operating at the already security-fragile Horn of Africa region, to revive their activities and recruit new supporters.

Article first published on Majalla.