DW Amharic - Armed forces said to be members of TPLF abduct students and burn homes
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Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from DW Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
DW Amharic - Armed forces said to be members of TPLF abduct students and burn homes
Isayas Gelaw
May 13, 2026 (Ginbot 5, 2018 EC)
More than 50 Abinet (traditional church education) students who had been studying at the Kidane Mihret Church assembly hall in Raya Alamata town were abducted by armed forces of TPLF operating in the town, according to local residents and fellow students. Witnesses also reported that the students were subjected to severe beatings, and that multiple armed individuals took part in the attack.
“After they finished their gathering and went back, they came in and beat all the students with sticks. Then more soldiers arrived. Some of us managed to escape quietly. Some were shouting, ‘Let’s execute them! Let’s execute them!’ Others were saying the same. Somehow, they eventually let some of us go. They are TPLF soldiers, there’s nothing more to add. It was them.”
The Abinet students stated that the assembly hall where around 700 students studied, along with their residential huts, was completely burned down. They added that, due to the threat to their lives, they were forced to flee the area. “The next day, they burned down the assembly hall. The building was completely destroyed, only a small portion remained. Around 700 students lived there. It was the local community that managed to save part of it during the night. We were told to leave and feared they were going to kill us, so we fled. We quietly scattered, some staying in elderly people’s homes in small groups, and others spent the night in the forest. After that, they burned it down, questioning us, saying things like, ‘Is this for election purposes?’”
One individual who said he was among those abducted stated that he was later released after being forced into hard labor, but that he does not know the whereabouts of many others. “I was one of those who was taken. They took us together. There were around 80 of us. They took some of them away saying they will train them. We don’t know how and where they took many of the students . Some were taken elsewhere. Many are still many students missing. We cannot reach them, their phones don’t work, and no one knows where they are.”
The mayor of Alamata town, Mr. Moges Hailu, stated that the destruction of the assembly hall at Kidane Mihret Church in Alamata was caused by a conflict between individuals, and that authorities have detained a suspect and are conducting an investigation. “What happened was a personal dispute. There were Abinet students there, and they had a conflict with local residents. They got into a fight, and during the altercation, the students beat a young member of the community with sticks. Since he was severely beaten, the youth went to express his anger and burned down the hut of the student he had a fight with, which resulted in the burning of the entire structure. Therefore, the individual responsible for the act is in custody.”
The mayor, Mr. Moges, stated that they had detained Abinet students at the time of the incident. He explained that those who were found not to have been involved in the conflict were later released, while those believed to have participated remain in custody. “I administer the city. We initially detained many individuals based on suspicion. There is nothing to lie about this fact. After investigation, we released those not involved and are continuing to investigate only those believed to have participated in the conflict. The rest have been released.”
It was also reported that in a previous similar incident, four students from the same assembly had been stabbed.
Isayas Gelaw
Negash Mohammed
Yohannes Gebreigzabhier
