{"id":180859,"date":"2026-11-09T23:17:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T04:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/?p=180859"},"modified":"2026-11-10T09:08:49","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:08:49","slug":"police-say-52-killed-in-benishangul-gumuz-attack-and-blame-the-ola-olf-accuses-police-of-killing-oromo-civilians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/180859","title":{"rendered":"Police Say 52 Killed in Benishangul-Gumuz Attack and Blame the OLA; OLF Accuses Police of Killing Oromo Civilians"},"content":{"rendered":"

The police commissioner of Ethiopia\u2019s Benishangul-Gumuz region says armed men killed 52 people in a dawn attack on Daleti kebele in Bilidigilu woreda on Thursday, and he has blamed the Oromo Liberation Army, which has not publicly responded to the accusation.<\/p>\n

Idris Mohammed, the regional police commissioner, told BBC Amharic<\/a> that 21 of the dead were civilians, 18 were members of the regional riot police and the remaining 13 were local militia members. He said the attack began at about 5 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, that the gunmen came in suddenly and disappeared right after, and that the army and more regional forces had since been sent to the area, where he said calm had returned.<\/p>\n

Idris said some of the wounded were in hospital and that people who fled had been brought back after officials talked with the community. He blamed fighters he called \u201cShene,\u201d the name the Ethiopian Government uses for the OLA, and said they operate in the area, which borders the Oromia region. BBC Amharic said it could not independently verify the attack or the number of dead, that its efforts to reach residents and witnesses had not succeeded, and that the OLA had not publicly answered the accusation.<\/p>\n

Residents told DW Amharic<\/a> that more than 50 people were killed and that most of the dead were regional riot police, militia and other security forces who were on guard duty in the kebele. Residents put the number of security personnel killed at about 30, DW reported, adding that it could not confirm the toll with an independent source and that some information suggested the number of dead could be higher. DW\u2019s report gave the day of the attack as Friday in one passage and as Thursday in another.<\/p>\n

One resident told DW: \u201cMany people were harmed. I heard that about 13, including riot police and militia, died. After that, many civilians. About 17 people have been buried. Just yesterday, three people, including the driver of a lowbed truck, were found dead in the bush.\u201d Another resident said the gunmen arrived suddenly at dawn, and a third said they left after more security forces reached the area and there was an exchange of fire (our translations from Amharic).<\/p>\n

Gragn Gudeta, who chairs the regional council\u2019s standing committee on peace, justice and democracy affairs, confirmed to DW that a \u201chorrific attack\u201d had taken place and said more than 30 members of the security forces, including militia, riot police and regular police, had been hit. He blamed the OLA and told DW he had no information about harm to civilians. The Abay Times<\/a> reported that Gragn said the attack happened because of complacency and that his committee would review the repeated security failures and report to the council.<\/p>\n

Other officials gave different numbers, according to The Abay Times. Lemessa Neno, a member of the regional council, said about 50 people were killed, 33 of them security personnel, and that young people and children were among the civilians killed. A police officer put the toll at more than 35, said 11 wounded people were being treated and said the attackers looted shops.<\/p>\n

Meseret Media<\/a>, reporting on Friday, put the number of dead at more than 105, citing a regional government official who asked not to be named and who blamed \u201cOLF Shene.\u201d The official said security forces were in the area at the time but that the attack succeeded because of serious complacency and a failure to act on earlier intelligence warnings, and said the regional government had begun looking into talk that the fighters\u2019 movements had been deliberately kept hidden. A health worker told Meseret Media that most of the victims were shot and a few were stabbed, and said: \u201cAlthough such incidents are not new in the region, I have never seen people harmed on this scale\u201d (our translation from Amharic). Zegabi could not verify the figure of more than 105.<\/p>\n

Wazema Radio<\/a>, in its Saturday news summary on X, gave the same breakdown of 21 civilians, 18 regional police and 13 militia members, said the attack happened on Thursday and said residents identified the attackers as OLA fighters.<\/p>\n

Residents told Addis Standard<\/a>, which reported on X on Monday, Nov. 9, that more than 65 people were killed in Daleti, including about 45 members of the region\u2019s security forces and at least 27 civilians, among them women and children. Residents told the outlet that the attacks took place on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6, rather than in a single morning. The toll has not been independently verified.<\/p>\n

The Oromo Liberation Front, a legal opposition party distinct from the OLA, gave a very different account. In a statement shared on Facebook by its spokesman, Lemi Gemechu, the OLF said regional police killed more than 43 Oromo civilians, including women and children, in Daleti on the same day after accusing them of supporting \u201cShene,\u201d according to BBC Amharic and The Abay Times. DW reported that the statement named nine people the OLF said were killed by security forces and said the whereabouts of more than 100 people were unknown. BBC said it had not been able to establish whether the police account and the OLF statement concern the same events or linked ones, and the OLF\u2019s allegation has not been independently verified.<\/p>\n

The regional government had not issued a public statement on the attack, DW reported, and the broadcaster said its repeated calls to the region\u2019s Peace Building and Security Bureau went unanswered. DW noted that Assosa zone had been calmer than other parts of the region since armed groups operating there signed a peace agreement with the regional government. Zegabi found no public comment on the attack from the federal government in Addis Ababa by Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Lemessa told The Abay Times that the area is rich in marble and that armed groups have tried to take control of it by force. The Daleti attack came on the same morning that residents say 38 people were killed in Robe woreda in Oromia\u2019s Arsi area, according to BBC Amharic and The Abay Times.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n