Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from VOA Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
VOA Amharic - Students from Debark University abducted by militants have not yet been freed
July 8, 2024
Aster Misganaw
Last week on Monday, more than 100 students from Debark University reportedly abducted by militants near Gebir Guracha town in North Shewa Zone of Oromia Region have not yet been released according to students who escaped abduction.
Students who reportedly escaped abduction said after students departed from Debark University on two buses, on the third day when they reached the Gebir Guracha area in North Shewa Zone, militants of the “Oromo Liberation Army” abducted travelers from the buses and physically beat them as they took them to the forests they told Voice of America one day after the abduction.
Among the captives was a fourth year student from Debark University who said one of their captors approached them and asked “do you know about Shene?” in the Afan Oromo language and students who were able to respond in Afan Oromo were subsequently released.
We called the personal phone of North Shewa Zone Oromia Region Peace and Security Office Head Ato Solomon Abebe who promptly responded, “the students have been released” before closing the phone.
We were able to reach Debark University President Dr. Asmamaw Zegeye by phone and he said “we are following the matter, but since the students were abducted in Oromia Region you should contact the ministry of education”. However, efforts to contact the ministry of education were not successful.
The U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga called for an end to abductions of students and civilians for ransom and for respect of rule of law.
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