SOURCE: BBC*
After 38-years of battling several Ethiopian regimes, the
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebels have captured Addis Ababa and overthrown
the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The ex-PM Meles Zenawi and his family have fled the country
and went to Somaliland. Sources in Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital, say Meles
is planning his travel to China, where he is expected to reside permanently. Soldiers
and generals loyal to Meles Zenawi’s TPLF have fled north to the Tigray region
where he still has much support from his ethnic group. However, sources in the
Tigray capital Mekele have reported that some ethnic Tigrayan opposition
supporters have risen up against the TPLF and there are reports of gunfight in southern
Tigray.
In the disputed Badme town near the border with Eritrea,
Tigray forces are battling Eritrean troops who have invaded the territory. In
Addis Ababa and most of Oromia, OLF rebels have taken control of strategic
military posts as hundreds of thousands of Oromos have went to the streets in jubilation.
Young men and women, children and the elderly have flocked outside to enjoy their
freedom after decades of oppressive and exploitive Abyssinian rule in Oromia. For many centuries, various ethnic and
regional communities and kingdoms lived side-by-side peacefully. But it was in
the 1880s that Abyssinian Emperor Menelik II, with the help of General Gobana
Dacche, conquered most of the independent Oromo Kingdoms.
Thousands of elated people celebrated victory from tyranny;
some of them holding signs that read “Oromia is Free!” “Meles to the Hague!” and
“Free at Last!” Some non-Oromo Ethiopians have also joined the celebration while
opposition leaders plead for calm. There has been some looting and robbery
reported in Adama, Jimma, Bahir Dar and Desse in the absence of the police
however MEDREK opposition officials and elders have joined the OLF to control the crowd in
many towns.
US embassy officials said they have been surprised in the disciplined
conduct of the rebels in the capital city as they take control of federal
institutions. However, there have been reports of “border conflicts” near
Oromia state’s boundaries with other regional states as well as land dispute in
the Ogaden region where OLF rebels are battling ONLF rebels.
A couple of OLF officials have declared that the country
will conduct a referendum for the future of Oromia region in “less than five days.” But top level OLF leaders stated that formation of a transitional and
democratic Ethiopian government is their first priority; to supervise an
orderly, impartial and peaceful referendum.
* Credit source Part of April fools article
