Following
the collapse of peace negotiations in Tanzania, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA)
rebel group was accused by the government of Ethiopia's largest region,
Oromia, of killing "many civilians" in attacks.
Unidentified
assailants targeted three villages in Oromia's Shirka district on November 24
and 27, resulting in at least 36 fatalities, witnesses told Reuters.
Property
was also destroyed in the attacks, Hailu told the state news agency. "The
terror group is committing brutal acts on civilians because it is now very
anxious," she said.
The
OLA did not immediately provide a statement. Legesse Tulu, a spokesman for the
federal government, did not reply to a request for comment.
The
federal government and its Oromia regional counterparts have mobilised
security teams to push out the rebels from areas they control, Hailu said.
The
latest attacks came just days after a second round of talks between the
government and the OLA to resolve the decades-old conflict ended in Tanzania
without a deal.
Seventeen
people were killed on Nov. 24 when attackers raided one village and 11 were
killed on the same day in another village, residents of the area told Reuters.
One
farmer lost seven members of his family, including his wife and son. Two of his
other children suffered injuries and were being treated in hospital, the farmer
said.
"They
targeted Orthodox Christians," he said.
Another
eight people, including babies, were killed in an attack on a third village in
the area, the residents, who included a church leader, said.
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