Addis Abeba — Civilians are once again caught in the crossfire as renewed violence grips several woredas in the Metekel Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz regional state. The latest wave of insecurity, which began in May, has shattered the relative calm that had followed the devastating conflicts that plagued the region between 2019 and 2022.
On Sunday 06 July, at least one person was killed and more than seven homes were burned in Donbon Kebele, Debate Woreda of Metekel Zone. In an interview with Addis Standard, residents and a local political party leader operating in the area blamed the incident "Shene", a term often used to refer to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
A resident of Donbon Kebele, who spoke to Addis Standard on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the attack on 06 July occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. According to the account, in addition to the killing, the attackers looted property and set fire to more than seven homes.
Another resident of the kebele, also requesting anonymity, confirmed the attack and its timing. The resident alleged that the militants "committed rape and widespread looting" during the incident.
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"The attack was carried out by the OLA or Shene. They introduce themselves to the local community Shene armed group. They are committing robberies in the area, stealing weapons and money. They say, 'The Oromo people have been oppressed, so we will put an end to this,"' the resident said.
Addis Standard reached out to an OLA representative for comment and was told that the group is looking into the reports and will respond in due course.
The residents in the area say that similar attacks have occurred since May this year, often targeting gold traders, investors, local administrators, and members of the security apparatus.
"Security forces only arrive after the incident," the source quoted above said, though acknowledged a slight improvement due to recent deployments of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and regional special forces: "It's fair to say there is now relative peace."
Still, the resident emphasized the community remains on edge. "We don't believe the forces deployed in the area are sufficient. We request the federal government to deploy additional forces, take the necessary measures, and free the community from fear."
A leader of the Boro Democratic Party, speaking to Addis Standard anonymously due to security concerns, said that "Shane militants" remain highly active in Wenbera, Bulen, and Debate districts. The leader accused "Shene" fighters of "looting and horrific rape attacks" and noted that the security situation has deteriorated across five of the seven woredas in the Metekel Zone.
Citing a letter it says was "sent to us by the local community" and reviewed by Addis Standard, the Boro Democratic Party, has warned that attacks by OLA militants are continuing unabated in the region, particularly in the Metekel and Kamashi zones. The letter claims, "The militants kill innocent civilians and security forces, loot and destroy private and government property, and government institutions."
Providing recent examples, the letter claims that "last month, attacks occurred twice in Bulen town, Bulen Woreda, and Berber town, Dibate Woreda." It further alleges that "in Bulen town, in a single night, during the celebration of Eid al-Adha, they killed 11 members of the region's special forces, in addition to killing many innocent civilians, elders, religious leaders, and security personnel; they also abducted innocent civilians."
The letter goes on to assert that the armed group is "rapidly expanding its territory," claiming control over "more than 60 percent of the kebeles in Dibate Woreda and over 30 percent of the kebeles in Bulen Woreda," both located in Metekel Zone.
According to the letter, the militants are now attempting to expand into Wegdi Kebele in Wonbera Woreda. "The fact that Wegdi and Gocher kebeles, which the militants are focusing on in Wonbera Woreda, are in close proximity to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and that the militants' advance is towards the dam and the Sudanese direction, has become a surprising development," the letter from the states.
Following these consecutive attacks in the Metekel Zone, where approximately 20 people were reportedly killed, the BBC Amharic reported that private investors engaged in oilseed production for export have begun abandoning their farms.
According to the regional Industry and Investment Bureau, "around 45" private investors have left their agricultural operations in the past two weeks alone due to worsening insecurity.
Addis Standard made repeated attempts to reach the head of the Debate Woreda Police Office and the regional Peace Building Bureau for comment, but both efforts were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
Longstanding instability
The Metekel Zone of Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State has been the epicenter of recurring violence since 2019. Despite relative calm observed since early 2022, the fragile peace appears to have unraveled once again as weeks-long attacks by heavily armed, unidentified militiamen have rocked the region since May 2025. The resurgence in violence has particularly affected five of the seven districts - Bulen, Wenbera, Guba, Dibati, Dangur, and Mandura - leading to fresh civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of property.
This marks a return to crisis reminiscent of the December 2020 massacre, when over 200 civilians were killed in a single day in Bukeji kebele, Bullen Woreda.
Addis Standard had been reporting on these back-to-back attacks along with months of intensified assaults, had previously displaced more than 101,000 people between July 2020 and January 2021. Many of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the time fled to towns within the zone or sought refuge in the neighboring Amhara region.
In March 2021, at the height of an earlier wave of deadly violence in Metekel, a federal parliamentary committee assigned to investigate the unrest accused Egypt and Sudan of playing a destabilizing role in the region. Abdullahi Hamu, then-chairman of the committee, stated that illegal arms trafficking and militia training camps had been operating along the Ethio-Sudanese border. He further noted that the conflict was not spontaneous, but part of a calculated effort that predated the political reform process of 2018, with narratives circulating among local communities about foreign-backed plots to dismantle the regional state and provoke armed resistance.
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At the time, over 3,000 militants reportedly surrendered, and some 68,000 displaced Gumuz civilians returned from forest hideouts. The government responded by recruiting and training more than 10,000 local militias for peacekeeping purposes.
The Benishangul Gumuz regional state had also since signed a peace agreement with an unnamed "armed group" which would see members of the later take up leadership positions in the region, acquire urban and rural land, as well as receive credit facilities including for women with a stated goal of solving the security crisis in the region sustainably.
Residents now say the situation has again sharply deteriorated since May 2025, with recent attacks targeting gold traders, local officials, and security personnel.
The Boro Democratic party leader quoted above also admitted the presence and growing activities of "Gumuz militants" in Dangur and Guba woredas. They stated that security problems have continued to escalate, fully and partially, in five of the seven districts (Weredas) located in the Metekel Zone of the region. These coordinated killings have prompted renewed displacement and the flight of investors from the area.
These groups, the leader said, are operating in clusters, and have reportedly targeted agricultural workers in areas critical to farming and located near the GERD, prompting many investors to flee. The leader urged government forces to act decisively to restore stability and called for urgent intervention to restore stability; without sustained security guarantees, the humanitarian and economic fallout in the region could rapidly escalate, the leader warned.
