Community leaders demand the withdrawal of joint security forces and the restoration of local policing amid escalating border tensions in Ethiopia’s Gurage Zone
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Residents of Abeshige District in the Gurage Zone are organizing a peaceful march into the neighboring Oromia Region under the slogan “We will move to Oromia Region; our safety must be guaranteed,” following prolonged security failures by zonal and regional authorities.
Local sources informed Borkena that “persistent security gaps across Abeshige have escalated, with community members asserting that regional authorities possess the administrative capacity to stabilize the area but have refrained from intervening.” Critics allege that key actors are deliberately allowing security conditions to deteriorate to advance specific political agendas in the border territory.
Tensions have intensified in recent months following repeated, unauthorized incursions by Oromia Region police and special forces into Abeshige District under the pretext of pursuing criminal suspects. Residents and local observers have sharply criticized the joint Command Post operating in the area, accusing the multi-million-birr entity of worsening regional instability rather than restoring order.
Local reports indicate that Oromia security forces operating under the Command Post’s framework have initiated a forced disarmament campaign targeting residents in border kebeles, extending as far as Darge and surrounding communities. Community members expressed deep concern over the weapons seizure, with reports alleging that law enforcement diverted collected firearms rather than properly cataloging them.
Concurrently, the campaign has sidelined the Gurage Zone’s native security apparatus. Local sources indicate that zonal police forces face operational restrictions, leaving Oromia security units and the Command Post to conduct unauthorized operations across the zone, including incursions into Welkite town.
Facing forced disarmament and the exclusion of local law enforcement, community members face growing uncertainty over civilian protection. Reports received by Borkena confirm that the Command Post and Oromia security forces are pressuring residents to organize the planned march into the Oromia Region, maintaining that local security issues exceed the handling capacity of the Gurage Zone administration.
Local civic groups and observers urge the public to resist forced administrative realignments, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Command Post and the full restoration of security authority to the Gurage Zone’s native police forces.
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