East Wollega Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia
A humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Ethiopia’s East Wollega Zone, where tens of thousands of ethnic Amhara residents have reportedly been forced from their homes amid a fresh wave of violence in the region.
According to a report published by Borkena, more than 15,000 people have been displaced and hundreds are believed to have been killed after security sweeps involving Oromia Special Forces, regional militias, and Gada Commando units swept through Amhara-populated communities in the zone. Survivors quoted in the report say their houses were looted and burned, farmland and crops destroyed, and livestock killed or taken by the forces involved.
Many of those displaced, described as mostly women, children, and older residents, are said to have taken refuge in the “Ali” forest near Gida Ayana district, where they have reportedly been living in the open for roughly two weeks without shelter, clean water, or medical care. The report states that access roads into the area have been blocked and that nearby markets that once supplied food have been destroyed, forcing families to survive on wild grasses and leaves. Local sources cited in the report said two children and an elderly person died of starvation and exposure in a single day, with fears that as many as 2,000 people could die without an urgent humanitarian response.
The report also describes a second wave of violence in the neighboring Kelem Wollega Zone, where armed regional forces and allied militias allegedly opened fire on homes in a farming community in Hawa Gelan district, touching off panic and a mass flight into open fields. Casualty figures from that incident had not been confirmed at the time of reporting.
Corroborating Reports
Separate accounts support the broad picture of escalating violence against Amhara communities in East Wollega, though specific casualty figures vary between sources.
A petition organized by the Federation of Amharas in North America (FANA) cites a preliminary report from the Amhara Association of America (AAA), dated September 1, which documented at least 68 civilians killed between August 18 and 29 across Gida-Ayana, Limu-Gelila, and nearby parts of East Wollega Zone, along with additional injuries and displacement. That report also states that four historic Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church buildings were destroyed by fire, and it names a combination of federal defense forces, Oromia regional forces, including Gada Commandos and Oromia Special Forces, and allied militia groups as being involved.
A separate account, also carried by Borkena in late August, described similar attacks in the Gida Ayana, Guten, and Kiremu areas, reporting that thousands of people had fled into forested areas out of fear for their safety, with regional security forces implicated in the violence.
Violence targeting Amhara communities in this part of Oromia is not new. Rights monitors have documented repeated deadly incidents in the same general area in past years, including a 2021 attack in Gida Kiremu district that Ethiopia’s state-appointed Human Rights Commission said killed at least 150 people, an incident for which the Oromo Liberation Army denied responsibility.
No Official Response
As of this writing, neither Ethiopia’s federal government nor the Oromia regional administration has issued a public statement responding to the reported military operations, the destruction of homes and churches, or the deteriorating conditions faced by displaced families in the forest. Independent verification of casualty figures and details remains difficult given restricted access to the affected rural areas, and figures cited by advocacy groups, diaspora media, and local sources have not been confirmed by an independent, neutral body.
Sources:
- Borkena, “Thousands of Ethnic Amharas Displaced and Trapped in Wollega Forests Facing Severe Starvation” (August 31, 2026)
- Federation of Amharas in North America (FANA) petition, citing the Amhara Association of America’s September 1, 2026 preliminary report
- Borkena, “Ethiopia: Worsening Atrocities Targeting Ethnic Amhara in Wollega” (August 2026)
- Wikipedia, background on the 2021 Gida Kiremu / Qelem Wollega violence, citing Reuters and Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission
