Dozens of passengers aboard a public transport bus traveling from Addis Abeba to Debre Markos were reportedly taken by armed men in the North Shewa zone of the Oromia region on May 19, 2026, according to a statement from the bus operator.
The incident took place in an area locally referred to as “Alidoro,” located between the towns of Gebre Guracha and Fiche. Gunmen are said to have intercepted and halted the “FM” bus before forcing passengers off the vehicle and transporting them to an unknown destination. The bus company confirmed that the whereabouts of 34 of the passengers remain unaccounted for, while only three individuals have had their status confirmed.
The identity of the perpetrators has not been established, and no official statement has been issued by any government authority at the time of reporting.
The attack is not an isolated event. The same bus operator reported a near-identical incident along the same route approximately four months prior, in which another FM bus was stopped by armed men and passengers were abducted. These recurring incidents are part of a broader and worsening pattern of insecurity along the Addis Abeba–Debre Markos corridor, which has been the scene of multiple attacks in recent months.
This corridor has seen repeated violence. In March 2025, more than 56 passengers were reported abducted after an armed attack on a bus passing through the Degem district of North Shewa zone, near the Ali Doro area. Witnesses from that incident described a highly coordinated assault in which gunmen fired on the bus to disable it, separated into groups to engage with regional security forces, and forced passengers toward remote terrain.
The broader security situation across Oromia and the Amhara region has drawn increasing concern. In July 2024, over 100 university students were reportedly abducted near Garba Guracha town while en route from the Amhara region to Addis Abeba, with families later alleging that ransom demands were made. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, in its third annual report released that same month, flagged a sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom across both regions. Earlier reporting from October 2023 also highlighted a growing trend of financially motivated abductions tied to ongoing armed conflict in Oromia.
Transport operators and civilians continue to raise alarm over the deteriorating security conditions on major inter-city routes, warning that the frequency of such attacks is increasingly disrupting the free movement of passengers across the country.
Source: Addis Standard
