The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed group classified as a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government, is said to have taken control of some territory in the West Wollega zone of the Oromia Region and kidnapped some government officials, the BBC Amharic reported.

Residents and an official who asked not to be named for security reasons told the radio that OLA militants have taken control of towns, Mendi, Kiltu Kara, and Leta Sibu. The residents said that the militants have destroyed and confiscated civil property in areas they have controlled.

Residents said that half of the government officials in the towns were abducted by the outlawed group, while the rest fled into the surrounding forest. The militants robbed banks and destroyed and looted government offices, the witnesses said.

Local officials declined to comment when asked by the BBC.

A resident of Mendi town said that there have been explosions and gunfire heard in the town since Monday. “All shops were closed, the streets were empty. There were no transportation. Residents are inside their house, ” he told the BBC. According to the witnesses, banks were broken open and their vaults robbed, including branches of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Siqi, and the Berhan Bank. The office of Ethio Telecom was also ransacked, they said. Police stations and administrative offices were also targeted.

The abduction of local administration officials

The administrator of West Welega Zone, who was interviewed by the BBC, said the abductions of local administration officials occurred when the armed group took control of the towns. He said that some of the officials already fled early because they were being targeted by the militants. “Most of them headed to the army camp, desperately seeking protection. However, the government soldiers themselves ran away when they were attacked by the militants, exposing the officials to the armed group,” he explained.

The commander of the OLA, Mero Diriba, confirmed that the militants that he led have captured the local officials at the military camp. Diriba was quoted as saying that the officials have been doing their job from the military camp and they were detained because they were “working for the government”.

“We will release them and send them to their families after we arrange reconciliation with the local population,” he said.

Despite this claim, there was no information about the whereabouts of the government officials who were kidnapped by the armed group in the past, according to family members and residents.

The Ethiopian government has accused the rebel group of killing civilians and local officials but the OLA’s spokesman, Odaa Tarbii rejected the accusation, saying OLA was only conducting an operation to capture army camps in the area. The spokesman said, “the local government offices were being used as military camps and command centers, the damage was sustained during the fighting.”