Two people were killed, and three others were seriously injured by shots from special security forces in Konso, as reported by Wazema. Representatives of the Konso people have been requesting their special woreda to gain a zone status for seven months. However, the regional administration has ignored their demand and attempted to suppress questions with intimidation and detentions.
According to witnesses in the report, on March 13, 2016, members of the special forces first went to Dokatu village and Debana Kebele, threatening the community. Elders managed to deter violence in Dekote. However, the security forces went to another village and started a provocation where they killed two men and inflicted serious injuries on three other individuals.
The report highlights that there has been tension between communities and special forces for a while now. Schools and government offices have been closed since mid-February. The detention of the Konso’s traditional leader was the latest flashpoint.
As Wazema reported previously, the Konso people have been living in Konso special woreda under the Southern Nations and Nationalities People’s Region. Three years ago, their special woreda was made to be part of the Segen Area Peoples zone that comprises nations including Konso, Ale, Burji, Amaro, Derashe, Kusume Mose, and Mashile, and with a woreda status. Representatives of the Konso community reject the new arrangement, saying the measure stripped them of their special woreda status and denied them their self-administration right. Currently, they are not asking to return to their special woreda but are demanding to have a zone status.
According to the report, their repeated questions have not received a favorable response either from the Regional Administration or from the Region’s House of Federation, a body established to handle such constitutional issues. When the representatives took their issue to the Federal House of Federation, they were told that such a question should come through the regional administration.
