Since mid-December 2003, over 500 and 1000 are reported to have been killed and wounded respectively in the hand of government army. The death toll is rising every day since then and the future of Anuak ethnic group is in danger if there is no international community involvement to hold back the Ethiopian authorities action and made it accountable for its genocide act against the indigenous peoples of the Gambela region.

The systematic killing and genocide of the Anuak peoples under the current regime notably begun when unprecedented conflict erupted in 2001 between Anuak and Majanger ethnic groups. There was a devastation of both human resources and properties from both sides. Yet the Ethiopian authorities have remained silence and there had not been public enquiry or investigation of any kind carried out to bring the perpetrators to a court of law. The clash that virtually orchestrated by the regime in power had left many innocent Anuak and Majanger ethnic groups homeless. Until today there remains high level of mistrust between the two traditional peaceful peoples of no history of conflict in the past and future relationship predominantly characterized by mistrust and eminent danger.

Another conflict, that the Ethiopian authorities remain off the hook from the international community through available legal mechanisms and procedures, is the ethnic fighting over the land now used as a pretext in the current genocidal act of the authorities. It is surprisingly enough to hear the authorities in Addis Ababa talking about the land fight between Anuak and Nuer this time when they had been dismissing the same reason for the conflict between the two in the past. The government had been attributing the conflict between the two to power control in the region. The worst of its kind was in 2002 when in the Gambela town and adjacent Anuak villages’ conflict erupted between Anuak and Nuer, leaving many defenseless Anuak homeless and claiming many more lives. This followed another bloody conflict between same peoples in 2001 where many more Anuak peoples were reported dead and wounded. High level of property destruction took place and over 20 Anuak villages were burnt down and settled on. The devastation of the Anuak society in the 21st century is as a result of discriminatory government disarmament policy that left many Anuak defenseless. Today the society is subjected to high level of insecurity threat from other groups who have accessibility to firearms and ammunitions including the Ethiopian army. Yet the government that claims to protect every individual under its jurisdiction is hardly interested to provide any sort of protection to the defenseless peoples.

In all of the above-mentioned conflicts, the Anuak have been wondering the role of the Ethiopian authorities; firstly, in its silence in bringing to an end these unnecessary ethnic conflicts some of which could not be attributed to the parties involved. And secondly, the authorities plan in successive disarmament of ethnic Anuak only. Until today, ethnic Nuer have settled on Anuak land without effort from the government to return the Anuak villagers to their home villages. Any attempt to engage the Nuer ethnic through every possible means is followed by the government killing and torture of the Anuak elites and farmers. There has been no public enquiry neither to the death of innocent civilians and settlement of Nuer on the Anuak villages. However, the current slaughter of the Anuak people which left over 500 dead and many more wounded, have uncovered the true plan and policy of the current Ethiopian regime. Perhaps this confirms to the hidden policy of settlement on the Anuak lands as similar action of burning down the Anuak homes was carried out by the army in the Gambela town, leaving many Anuak ethnic residing in Gambela town homeless and destitute. In the Gambela town and adjacent villages along the Baro (Openo) River, the government policy of clearing the Anuak from the area, is underway and great fear is inflicted upon them.

The massacre of innocent Anuak ethnic in the broad day light in the regional capital, Gambela, was one of its kinds in Ethiopian government history. For four days, the army ruthlessly engaged in brutal killing of innocent Gambela residents, and Anuak ethnic group was the only target of the government brutal operation. Dead bodies were left lying on the streets for several days without families allowed to remove them. Any attempt to do so was traded in with high price- lost of precious human live again. Many feared to risk their lives in a very well plan operation by the army. As a result the decomposed bodies were buried in mass graves where the families were not allowed to see the departure of their loved ones. Gambela is a blistered town and the Anuak are no longer treated as human beings in their own ancestral town and the region as a whole.

Irrespective of calm returning to the town, until today the army is widely reported to carry out sporadic killing and raping of innocent young girls and elderly women whose age ranges from 7-65 years old. Surprisingly, since the killing broke out on 13/12/2003 the government has been given a contradictory accounts; firstly, that the conflict was between Anuak and Nuer ethnics and as a result the army was dispatched to control the situation. Secondly, the government reported that as conflict broke out between the Anuak and high land population living in Gambela town, the army was given order to clam down the situation. Thirdly, the government had engaged in accusing the opposition political parties, mainly the OLF of engaging in the killing of Anuak and the ambush of an ambulance which left 7 highland population and 1 Anuak dead on spot sparking the killing of innocent Anuak civilians in the Gambela town by similar opposition group.

The account of the government cannot be collaborated as it is a mere attempt to divert the international community attention from knowing the real cause of the genocide, who carried out such brutal act and dispatch an independent investigation team into the region. Firstly, at the time of day broad light Anuak killing there was no ethnic Nuer involved in the killing and no conflict between the two took place. Secondly, the highland populations all of which are traders and civil servants like the Anuak counter parts do not possess arms to embark on mass killing. Moreover, there had never been any sign of conflict between these societies in the past. However, the information from the ground indicates that some highland residents in the town were involved in identifying and exposing the Anuak neighbors to the army for genocide acts. In their final attempt to divert the international community attention, the authorities in Addis Ababa accused the OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) for being the one that had engaged in the brutal killing of innocent Anuak civilians in the Gambela town. The OLF, on its part, has disputed its involvement in the killing of Anuak civilians in the Gambela town.

Even if one assumes that the government accusation against its political opposition may hold true, one would ask a vital question as to how many soldiers died in engaging the OLF. Such questions and many more remain an answered and are a starting point for international community independent enquiry. Moreover, OLF being an opposition to the Ethiopian government seems to have no interest in devastating innocent civilians leaving its political opponent, the TPLF army and its leaders. Further more, the army killing of the Anuak is not only limited to the Gambela town, but also in other towns where raping and many more killings are now widely reported. In any case the regime genocide acts is clear and cannot be covered up by simple uncollaborated accounts of events all of which convince the TPLF regime only.

The arbitrary killing of innocent civilians contradicts the Ethiopian government’s international obligations and in particular is a violation of “Article 6” of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of which the Ethiopian government is a party. According to Para 1: