By Martin Plaut
Oromia is once again reeling from a surge of violence as Fano Amhara militants, widely believed to be operating with support and protection from Ethiopia’s federal government, continue a campaign of terror marked by mass killings, forced displacement, and destruction of Oromo communities.
Recent reports from the Horro Guduru Wallaga zone provide chilling evidence of systematic atrocities.
Mass Displacement and Killings in Abee Dongoro
On August 23, 2025, heavily armed Fano militias stormed Hoomaa Gaalessaa village in Abee Dongoro district, Horro Guduru Wallaga. Eyewitnesses confirm that over 32 civilians were killed in a single day, and at least 6,629 residents were displaced.
In an earlier report Addis Standard reported 26 were killed. Among the displaced are 220 highly vulnerable people – children under the age of two without guardians, elderly men and women, and pregnant mothers. Many now shelter in makeshift camps at Gararoo Loomica School, where conditions are dire.
Local sources report that two women gave birth under unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the displacement camp. Residents describe their situation as catastrophic, citing lack of food, medical care, and urgent humanitarian aid. “We are exposed to hunger and disease while the attacks continue in nearby villages,” a displaced elder said.
Ongoing Terror: Mutilations, Looting, and Beheadings
Survivors say the Fano militants are employing deliberate terror tactics: mutilations, beheadings, burning civilians alive, and widespread looting. In some cases, attackers amputated hands and breasts of victims – echoing the infamous Minelik the II’s “Harka Muraa fi Harma Muraa” (cutting of hands and breasts) atrocities that haunt Oromo’s collective memory.
“They come across the border armed with heavy weapons, loot everything, then kill and mutilate us,” one resident recounted. “There is nothing they have not done to us.”
On August 29, 2025, Fano gunmen launched another large-scale raid on Hoomaa Gaalessaa, killing 32 civilians in a single day. Survivors reported that militants, armed with military-grade weapons, entered the village in formation, first seizing property and livestock, then opening fire on unarmed Oromo civilians. Thousands more were displaced in the aftermath.
Government Complicity and Silence
Despite repeated pleas for protection, the federal government has provided no security response. In fact, residents accuse authorities of disarming local Oromo communities under the pretext of “you are supporting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA),” leaving them defenseless.
“They took away our weapons, leaving us with bare hands while Fano attacked us with machine guns,” a community leader said. Local militias that could have protected villages were also stripped of arms by government forces, according to multiple testimonies.
Meanwhile, residents accuse federal and regional authorities of deliberately ignoring their appeals for protection. “Whenever we cry for help, they stay silent,” one survivor said.
Pattern of Ethnic Cleansing
These recent atrocities are part of a wider pattern. Fano militias, often praised and coordinated by Ethiopian state officials, have repeatedly targeted Oromo farming communities in Horro Guduru Wallaga, East Wallaga, Arsi; West, East, and North Shaggar; and Wallo zones of Oromia.
Documented atrocities include:
● Beheadings of teenagers and public display of severed heads on fences.
● Burning alive of an eight-month pregnant Oromo woman and her child.
● Execution of elderly Oromo civilians, including men aged 85 and 87.
● Arbitrary arrests, torture, and collective punishment in multiple zones of Oromia.
The violence has displaced millions of Oromos in recent years, creating one of the largest internal displacement crises in Africa.
Leaked Audio Reveals Intent to Expand Attacks
A leaked audio recording, circulating since late 2022, captured Fano militants openly planning to shift their battlefield into Oromia. In the recording, a Fano commander declared: “We shall massacre civilian Oromos and strike at their infrastructure… Oromia will be our battlefield.”
The recording, though unverified, aligns with the group’s documented behavior and brutal tactics.
The atrocities in Oromia echo the crimes committed in Tigray during Ethiopia’s recent civil war: mass killings, displacement, and widespread impunity. Despite overwhelming evidence, the international response has been muted.
Human rights organizations and global governments have been slow to act, while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration supported the fano militants early and while it is currently at war with the group in Amhara region, has chosen to stay silent in reaction to the group’s crimes in Oromia. Oromo parliamentarians have repeatedly called for investigations and protection of their people, but their voices remain ignored.
Unless urgent international intervention occurs, Oromo civilians face an escalating campaign of ethnic cleansing. The United Nations, African Union, and foreign governments have a moral obligation to act:
● to designate Fano militias as terrorist organizations,
● to hold Ethiopian state actors accountable for enabling atrocities, and
● to demand unhindered humanitarian access to displacement camps.
The people of Oromia are enduring an existential threat. Silence and inaction from the global community will only embolden the perpetrators and deepen the suffering of millions.
References
Aug 2025: FNN received 32 Oromo civilians were killed by Amhara Fano militants in Abe Dongoro: https://addisstandard.com/over-25-killed-in-armed-attack-in-horo-guduru-wollega-zone-residents-mp-accuse-fano-militants/
July 2025: Fano’s actions in Arsi, South East Oromia:
Nov 2024: Fano militants beheaded an Oromo youth in Dara district, North Shawa zone:
Aug, 2023: Fanos discuss relocating their battle field to Oromia:
Jan 2022: Fanos destroyed a village called Fixe Baqqo in Horo Guduru Wallaga in :
Aug 2022: Fanos murder serveral people including pregnant women:
In 2022: Fanos transported 75 Oromo civilians from Wallo zone of Oromia and summarily executed them: https://fnnmedia.org/blog/2023/8/23/amhara-fano-terrorists-plan-attack-civilians- oromia-leaked-audio/
2021: Fano militants stop an ambulance carrying injured Oromos on their way to hospital in Shawa Robit and brutally murder them: https://fnnmedia.org/blog/2023/8/23/amhara-fano-
