In the Oromia region, Horo Guduru Welega Zone, hundreds of people were killed in series of attacks in different districts, eyewitnesses who fled the attack and moved to other areas told the BBC.
According to the people interviewed by the BBC who fled the attack and went to the Amara region and are sheltering in Welega University there, it has been weeks since the attack started.
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (ESMECO) September 16/2015 In the statement he issued, in Horo Guduru Welega Zone in Umuru, Horo Bulk and Jardega Jarte districts from August 25, 2014. He said more than 100 civilians had been killed in the attacks in the three weeks since.
The commission cited the Oromo Liberation Army (ONG-Shene), Amhara irregular armed forces and individuals as responsible for the attacks.
It will be remembered that although he was concerned that armed groups should not carry out more ethnically based attacks on civilians, he expressed his concern that the attacks would continue to spread.
According to the eyewitnesses who survived the attack who fled from the areas where attacks are taking place and entered the Amhara region, many civilians including their family members were killed by the militants.
In particular, on Thursday, September 12/2015, from 11:00 am, a new attack took place in Jardega Jarte district, and they said that many people, whose number they did not know, were killed.
According to these eyewitnesses, the militant group that carried out the attack was "Ong Shene" and said that the attack was "based on identity".
In the preliminary report issued by the Amhara Association following the attack in America, the Oromo Liberation Army said that hundreds of Amhara nationals were killed in the large-scale attack carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army in Horo Guduru Welega Zone, Jardega Jarte and Amur districts.
Government Communication Office on Saturday, September 14/2015. In a statement, the militant group said an undisclosed number of people had been killed in the zone, saying it had "carried out killings of innocent civilians and members of the local militia".
The Oromo Liberation Army, which the government claims to operate in the area as a terrorist group, has been denying that it does not carry out attacks on civilians.
At the end of August, many civilians were killed in an attack in Agamsa town of Horo Guduru, Welega zone, Amuru district.
The BBC's efforts to confirm the identity of the militant group responsible for this attack on civilians from additional sources beyond residents and regional authorities have been unsuccessful.
What do those who fled the attack say?
The mother of the resident of Jardega Jarte, who was displaced with her three children, including her five-month-old baby, Thursday, September 12, 2015. She stated that the shooting started by the militants at 11:00 in the morning and lasted until 1:00 in the evening.
She said that after they had been hiding for days, they left the area last Saturday morning with the help of the Federal Security Forces in the area.
“Fortunately, we were on the upper side, so when the federal forces left the area, they took us away. But the Amhara people in the city were not spared. They were killed by tips and house-to-house searches,” she said.
Even after Jardega left Jarte, September 15/2015. She said that there was a similar attack in Amuru district and some people who were there managed to flee with them.
This mother added that she was worried about her family, who were left behind, and that she did not know whether they would live or die.
This mother, who said that it is difficult to tell how many people were killed in the attack, said, "The number is large because even people who were locked in the house were killed."
Another resident of Jardega Jarte District, 01 Kebele, who fled from the attack, recalled that their mother, who was displaced following the attack in the area a year ago, is still in the Lake City shelter. Now he said that he too has been displaced.
I, an eyewitness, testified that the attack was carried out on those who took refuge in the church and went from house to house.
“When the shooting started, we locked our house from the outside. After banging on the door, they left. A little while later, the militias [armed Amhara natives] started fighting. Then on Thursday night at 8:00 pm we left and took shelter in the federal camp. The federal forces also ambushed us and fought. Then on Saturday night they took him to Amuru. "Amuru was attacked by militants," he said.
"The person who did not get this opportunity and the elderly who could not walk because the journey was on foot, were left on the road," he said.
The person who says that "Shene invaded the area when the defense forces of the area were raised" blames that this attack was carried out because the call of Drusul was not responded to earlier and we did not get the chance to leave.
He said that there were more than 500 people living in the village where the eyewitness lived, and that only 150 of them were able to leave and that hundreds of people who were left there had died.
The residents of Amuru district who said that they left their area due to the attack by Amhara native militants, also say that there is no peace in all the kebeles in the district.
A resident of Amuru we spoke to said, "When the attack happened, we went to the district first. And when they chased us away, we fled into the forest. I am a guaranteed body from Amuru District. We don't think there will be any in the future. We are in danger," he said.
They said that people were killed in the attack, property was looted and even schools were destroyed.
They accuse us of arming, feeding and sheltering Shene. When they attack a peaceful people, they say they hit Shene. The Fanos are telling us not to sit in the Horo Gudru Welega Zone saying that we have land, go away from here. Even though we asked, we did not get an answer.
“He never gathered weapons and armed them. The people say I am hurt, Bill says we can't do anything until you get Shene out of you. Can we bind Shene like a cow?" They ask me to be an eyewitness.
Another eyewitness says that the crisis in the area has been going on for more than a year.
"Residents are being evicted from their own villages, being robbed, killed, and are being subjected to something unbecoming of a human being." It is not clear to me or to the people. The people are married to each other. Why did this come up now? That is the question. "If it is said that Shene is harassing the people, it is the government and not any other body that should take action," he said, asking the government to pay attention to the matter.
Although there is no mention of the existence of an organized 'Fano' in the area, when such attacks are carried out recently, the name of "Amhara irregular militants" is raised.
The Amhara people who live there say that there is no fano in the area and that there are only a few militias known to the government who are armed with weapons to protect themselves.
Human Rights Commission's response to the attack on Alabara
Imad Abdulfatah, a member of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, indicated that there are reports of attacks on civilians in Horo Gudru Welega Zone in the Oromia region. Although it is impossible to know the exact number, hundreds of civilians have been killed, they told the BBC.
“60 people were killed in Amuru district, then a similar attack was carried out in an area called Haro Bulek. "There have been other attacks recently," he said.
Ato Emad added that they had received information about the Oromo Liberation Army operating in the area and the militants who are said to be from the Amhara ethnic group in the area to attack "on the basis of identity".
Mr. Imad also urged the aggressors to refrain from targeting civilians, and urged the government to properly fulfill its responsibility to protect the safety of citizens.
Mr. Imad, who was asked whether his commission believes that the government has fulfilled its responsibility, referring to repeated attacks in the past, said, "We believe that there are efforts." But we also believe that there are gaps because there are civilians who are being killed. By evaluating why these gaps have been created, we recommend that citizens take appropriate measures so that they are not exposed to such attacks."
Those who survived the attack, those who lost their families and those who were present when the attack was carried out by the BBC, complained that they would be given protection and support by the government.
Mr. Imad, a member of the commission, said that he hears similar accusations, "especially due to the security problem in the Eastern Welega and Horo Gudru Welega zones, we did not visit the place and conduct research; But we understand that as there are efforts, there are gaps. Why are the gaps created? But it is the government that has to answer what he said."
What is the condition of displaced people?
Ato Yasu Mesfen, Head of Public Relations of Amhara Regional Disaster Prevention and Food Security Programs Coordination Commission confirmed the presence of displaced citizens following the recent attack in Horo Guduru Welega Zone. They stated that they are working to find out how many there are.
According to Ato Yasu, the people who fled the attacks and were displaced from the areas where they lived for more than 30 years are being taken to different areas and are being sheltered.
There are citizens who have fled the identity-based attacks in different areas of Oromia and have taken refuge in different cities in the Amhara region.
It has been repeatedly stated that these citizens are not being given enough support.
Ato Yasu, it will be recalled that he said in the past that the citizens were facing problems due to the lack of assistance from the aid organizations or the federal government for the displaced citizens following the recent resurgence of the northern Ethiopian war.
Dr. Yene Bai, the director of Wolega University's Shambu campus, told the BBC that the evacuees who fled the attacks in different areas of the zone are sheltering in the campus.
According to Dr. Yeene, the evacuees entered the campus from 12:00 PM on September 16, 2015, and 3,722 people registered until September 18, 2015.
He said that the number is increasing day by day and that the compound is crowded, so the zone leaders have taken them to another place and they are sheltering with their relatives.
The director said that among those who took shelter in the campus were "children, women, nursing mothers, pregnant women" and added that it is a challenge that this happens when the university is preparing to give the 12th class exit exam.
Dr. Yeene, who stated that the first evacuees came from Jardaga Jarte district, said that since many people have been coming continuously since then, the problem must have spread to other areas as well.
The director explained that the displaced people "told them that they were displaced by armed forces, that many people died, that they could not even bury the dead, that their property was destroyed and that they were separated from their family members."
According to the director, the evacuees are being supported mainly by the food brought by the university community and the surrounding community.
It is known that hundreds of civilians have been killed in ethnically based attacks in the western Oromia areas in the past years.
The federal government has repeatedly stated that it is taking action against the militant group known as 'ONG Shene', which it claims is responsible for the attack.
However, Alabara residents say that there is still violence against civilians, including children and women.