A wave of anti government protests have erupted in two seperate districts in the Somali region of Ethiopia as a result of excessive force by local security forces targeting civilians.
Liyuu Police paramilitaries shot and killed a civilian overnight in the town of Baladul Amin, situated near the district of Qalaafe in the Shabelle province. No reason or motives were given for the brazen killing.
The killing sparked widespread anger and condemnation amongst the local community, which culminated in wide scale protests condemning the Liyuu Police and the Regional government led by president Mustafa Omar.
Similiarly, members of the Liyuu Police paramilitary militia indiscrimnantly opened fire on civilians in the town of Birqod in the Jarar province after residents staged protests following the unlawful arrest of a local clan elder.
Many ressidents see this latest spate of violence in the region as a powder keg ready to blow. The Somali region has been relativly peaceful over the past few years compared to neighboring regional states aside from attacks from Oromo and Afar militias, along with Liyuu Police violence as witnessed recently.
The Liyuu Police are a violent paramilitary militia formed in 2008 to take part in counter-insurgency operations against the ONLF, the Somali National liberation Front, but instead have been implicated in widescale human rights and war crimes against civilians throughout the years in the Somali region, which has been documented extensively by rights groups.
Daljir Media Service Desk
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