Jal Mero Oromo Liberation Front Military Leader Reportedly Killed

Oromo Liberation Front and Ethiopian Federal Police did not release report regarding the reported death of Jal Mero

Borkena

December 28, 2020 

Security authorities in the Oromo region of Ethiopia reportedly said that the leader of the military wing of Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was killed in the Qelem district of Wollega region.

According to a report from Ahadu Radio and Television, Kumsa Driba ( Jal Mero) died from a bullet wound he sustained from one of the latest military operations in the region. 

Police inspector of the Qelem District, Inspector Zelalem Nememsa is said to have confirmed that the rebel leader is dead.

 About 103 bodyguards are also reportedly killed and that the police in the district claims that it has confirmed it with photographic evidence. 

However, government media outlets did not release a video footage of the rebel leader. The Federal Police Commission has not confirmed the story either. 

The news rather triggered skepticism among Ethiopians in the Diaspora. News of Jal Mero’s death was released just a day after a brutal massacre in the area that reportedly targeted ethnic Amharas. 

It is seen as a deliberate propaganda effort to cover the massacre of ethnic Amhara’s in the region.  

There has been a recurring massacre of ethnic Amharas in the area where Jal Mero’s armed group was operating for more than two years now.