FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2021
The Afar Revolutionary Democratic United Front( UGUGUMO) condemn the massacre of over 200 innocent Afar men, women and children by Ethiopian National Defence Forces(ENDF) in Gaali Koma, in Afar Regional State
The Afar Revolutionary Democratic United Front (Ugugumo) is a vanguard Afar political organization established in the early ’70s in Barahie town of the northern Afar territory in Ethiopia. Over the past five decades, it has fought for Afar causes and the rights of self-determination of Afar people in various parts of the Afar region.
Firstly, our organization strongly condemn the murder of innocents Afar people by the Ethiopian military and demands that a full and independent invest igat ion be conducted to hold those criminals accou ntable for such barbaric acts.
Secondly, contrary to what has been reported widely by Ethiopian media the massacre of Afar civilians were carried out by the Ethiopian military. We have confirmed from survivors on the ground that Ethiopian off icials deliberately placed civilians in the middle of the war zone after heavy fighting broke out between the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF). Upon losing ground to the TDF forces, the retreating Ethiopian units have requested air support to fend off the advancing TDF soldiers; in doing so, indiscriminately bombed a health facilit y and school shelt ering hundreds of Afar and injuring many more.
Thirdly, since bringing the conflict to the Afar region, the Abiy regime and his alli es from Amhara regional state have done much to sow division, hatred, and wedge politics among Ethiopian nations and nationalities, particularly between the two brotherly peoples of Tigray and Afar.
Ethiopia’s regime’s attempts to involve the Afar populat ion in its genocidal war in Tigray have been rejected by the Afar people at large; in fact, many Afar woredas have played a significant role to assist the displaced Tigrayans.
The Afar families have openly welcomed Tigrayans into their homes as they have done for many years during the region’s natural disasters and famines.
We condemn the Ethiopian government’s continuing attempts to manipulate the Afar people to block all humanitarian assistance so as to force man-made starvation on the people of Tigray and weaponization of food in order to force the people of Tigray into submission.
Finally, our organization {UGUGUMO) will join hands with Tigray Defence Forces {TDF) and its allied forces of other nations and nationalities to fight for the self determination of our Afar people and to secure the future of the multinational federation of Ethiopian people and reject the return of Ethiopia to the days of servitude, ethnic marginalization and the assimilations of the nations and nationalities in the name of the united prosperity of Ethiopia.
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A far Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF )
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