ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- An armed attack in Ethiopia's Southern regional state has left eight people dead, state media Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported on Tuesday.
EBC reported fighters suspected to be affiliated to the rebel group Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) opened fire on a reconciliation meeting on Monday evening killing eight people.
The reconciliation meeting between elders of the Amaro special locality in Southern regional state and West Guji zone of Oromia regional state had intended to resolve recurrent security problems in the area.
Among the eight fatalities is the head of Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party, Amaro special locality office, Dagnachew Achelan, EBC further reported.
In November, an armed attack in the Gumi-Eldalo locality of Guji zone left four construction workers dead. The victims were constructing a bridge when they were ambushed by fighters believed to be affiliated with OLA.
OLA is a breakaway faction of an ex-rebel group Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
OLF is an opposition political party claiming to fight for the rights of ethnic Oromos who make up about 35 percent of Ethiopia's population.
The OLF was designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament in 2011. It was removed from the terror list in July 2018 to help facilitate negotiations and foster reconciliation.
However, a breakaway faction of OLF estimated to have around nearly 3,000 fighters operates in the western and southern parts of Ethiopia's Oromia regional state, the principal homeland of ethnic Oromos. Enditem
