Aisha Seid was born in Argoba, South Wollo Zone. She was raised in Tole Kebele, West Welega, Gimbi Woreda.She moved there in 1990. At that time, she was just a child.
Aisha didn’t go to school. She was helping her father, who was a farmer.As she grew older, she married in Tole Kebele, where she grew up. She built her own hut. Life went on like this. She is blessed with two beautiful daughters.
Then, four years later, she gave birth to her last daughter. But like all the other children, she was not fortunate enough to see her baby growing.
When Aisha Saeed was killed along with several others in her village on Saturday, June 19, 2022, her daughter was only 15 days old.
“Our lives were threatened because of the threat posed on Amhara people in the area,” said Aisha’s close relative who shared the story.
Aisha, the mother of six-year-old, four-year-old and fifteen-year-old girls, did not study her waistline. Her legs did not have the strength to escape.
“The militants, including her, abducted children and women from their homes and took them to a forest called Chefe. Then they shot them. ”Aisha died next to her new born child.
The attack took place in five villages inhabited by Amharas in Tole Kebele.According to the individual, there were no security forces during the hours-long attack; They did not arrive immediately.Residents interviewed by the BBC said security forces arrived too late.
On Sunday, survivors gathered to bury the bodies of children, women, and elders who had fallen from their homes and on the streets.
After burying those they found on Sunday morning, another massacre was heard around 1 p.m. It is said that some were kidnapped and killed in a forest called Chefe.
“We were escorted by security forces,” said Aisha’s relative.Everyone picks up the bodies of their relatives.Aisha’s cousin’s eyes fell on his neighbor and relatives.
“Aisha put her newborn baby in front of her and put her 15-day-old baby to sleep. She was shot in the back. ”
“When we picked up Aisha, we had no idea that the girl was alive,” said her closest relative, who was still alive and well.
‘Little Aisha’ is now out of her mother’s arms, but she is still in the arms of her relatives.
Aisha is not the only one who has said goodbye to this world. She is accompanied by her 14-year-old sister. Her older sister was also shot and is being treated at Nekemte Hospital.But her father, husband, and children survived.
Her two young children, who survived the ordeal, were unaware of their mother’s death and did not understand what was happening.
Like Aisha, Aminat Syed left her eight-month-old baby with her three children.Aminat, 35, was killed at home with her 10-year-old, 7-year-old and 4-year-old children. Her 8-month-old daughter was injured but survived.
“When we opened the house to collect the bodies, they all fell down. When we picked up the mother, her 8-month-old son. . . We found him alive, ”said the same eyewitness.
According to eyewitnesses, 120 people were killed in his village of Tole Kebele, Gimbi Woreda, where he lives. Of these, 97 are women and children. Of the 97, 62 were children under the age of ten.Residents say there are many children left behind by their parents who were killed in the attack.
Currently, local defense, federal police and Oromia regional special forces are deployed. The environment seems stable. At least they were able to bury the dead, not according to tradition or religion.Survivors are also waiting for their daily bread, along with children who have been tormented by bullets.
The massacre of the Tole kebele
On Saturday, June 11, 2022, in the villages of Gutu, Chekorsa, Silesaw, Gene, Chaka Sefer and Hayaw, located in Tole Kebele, West Welega, Gimbi Woreda, June 22, 2022. M. Witnesses say more than 600 civilians were killed in the attack.
Although the government did not say how many people were killed, eyewitnesses and various media outlets put the death toll at more than 500.
The Associated
According to eyewitnesses, 120 people were killed in his village of Tole Kebele, Gimbi Woreda, where he lives. Of these, 97 are women and children. Of the 97, 62 were children under the age of ten.
Residents say there are many children left behind by their parents who were killed in the attack.
Currently, local defense, federal police and Oromia regional special forces are deployed. The environment seems stable. At least they were able to taste the dead, not according to tradition or religion.
Survivors are also waiting for their daily bread, along with children who have been tormented by bullets in their home.
Press quoted the Amhara Association in the United States as saying that 503 people had been killed so far in the attack.
Eyewitnesses interviewed by the BBC and the government claimed that the attack was carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army, known as Shene, but the group blamed government forces for the attack.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLF) said in a statement that the militants were not attacking civilians and that the Gimbi attack was carried out by government forces.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said an unknown number of people had been abducted by the militants and called on Ethiopian government officials to conduct a speedy, impartial and thorough investigation into the attack.
The commission told witnesses that hundreds of people, mostly women and children, had been killed in Tole, where most of the Amhara people live, and that at least 2,000 people had been displaced.
Opposition parties, activists, and others have condemned the attack and called on the government to protect the people and their rights.
On the day that hundreds of civilians were killed, senior officials, including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, sparked outrage on social media as they focused on planting seedlings. Voices of opposition are being heard at home and abroad.
Five days after the attack, representatives of the Amhara National Movement (NAMA) convened a meeting of the House of Peoples’ Representatives on behalf of Dr. Desalegn Chane.
Following this, the House of Peoples’ Representatives ordered the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to “investigate the serious human rights violations committed against innocent civilians” in Gambella region.
The Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, Tagesse Chafo, has also formed two groups of members of the House of Representatives to make decisions and respond to the results.
