(OIN, July 1, 2000) - At least 70 Oromos were killed in Eastern Oromia during the past few weeks in armed conflict that ensued between Oromos and Issa Somalis, according to a press release issued on June 30, 2000 by the National Council of the Oromo Liberation Front.

Eyewitnesses contacted by OIN say thousands of Oromos around Meiso, Asabot, Dema and Diddimtu are fleeing the area and the situation is very tense. The OLF communiqué accuses the TPLF government of instigating the violent conflict and taking side by arming the Issas and supplying them with ammunition while at the same time disarming the Oromo victims.

The government media in Ethiopia have so far not reported the incident and attempts by OIN to get comment from the Ethiopian Ministry of Information were unsuccessful. 

Opposition forces consistently accuse the TPLF of instigating conflicts between different ethnic groups in order to consolidate its power by using the old method of divide and rule.  Since the EPRDF/TPLF came into power eight years ago, there have been numerous major armed enter ethnic conflicts in Oromia. And in most cases, civilians caught up in the conflicts say the conflicts are caused by the deliberate and malicious acts of TPLF/EPRDF government.