BBC Amharic – “Shene militants” kill more than 40 civilians in Benishangul Gumuz say residents and officials
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Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from BBC Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
“Shene militants” kill more than 40 civilians in Benishangul Gumuz say residents and officials
November 24, 2025
An attack carried out by Shene militants left more than 40 people killed in Benishangul Gumuz Region including children and pregnant women say residents and officials who spoke to BBC.
The militants carried out the attack on Saturday, November 22, 2025 (Hedar 13, 2018 EC) in Bekuji Kebele of Bulen Woreda of Benishangul Gumuz Region in western Ethiopia.
The Bulen Woreda administrator Ato Nemera Maru told BBC he received information that 36 people were killed in the attack, and local militias had buried 40 people on Saturday while two other persons who went to Bulen on Sunday for medical care also died.
The Shinasha Special Electoral Region parliament member Dr. Mebratu Alemu (covering areas under Bulen and Wenbera Woredas of Benishangul Gumuz Region) said the attack took place starting at 5 am on Saturday and left more than 40 people killed.
Parliament member Dr. Mebratu told BBC residents of Bekuji Kebele “were asleep when the militants came” and opened fire and when residents “began to come out in shock the killings were carried out against anyone that was encountered.”
A resident BBC spoke to who lost family members in the attack said they knew that 41 people were killed by the militants.
Overall, over 42 residents were killed including victims who were injured and transported for medical care before succumbing to their injuries, according to residents and authorities who spoke to BBC.
The House of People’s Representatives’ Council member told BBC he had heard “over 40 people were killed, and some who were admitted to hospital for their injuries also died” in the attack carried out by the militants in Bekuji town,
Dr. Mebratu stated, “I spoke to a person who said they counted 31 bodies” and the deceased were discovered “by the entrance of their homes, and on the streets.”
The attack was reportedly carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army, which the state has designated as a terrorist organization and refers to as Shene, and according to the parliament member the victims ranged from “a one-year-old child up to an 80-year-old elderly person as well as pregnant women.”
However, no comment has been provided by the Benishangul Gumuz Region or Federal Authority regarding the attack that claimed more than 40 peoples.
Residents and authorities who spoke to BBC said the attack was carried out by Oromo Liberation Army (Shene) militants.
This armed group which was designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament has yet to comment on the killings or the attack.
Efforts by BBC Afan Oromo to reach the group for a response were unsuccessful.
“Over eight people were killed in our house alone”
On the morning of November 22, 2025 (Hedar 13, 2018 EC) starting at around 6 am the militants carried out the attack which left over eight members of a single family killed according to a town resident who buried “three to four people in a single mass grave.”
A resident of Bulen Woreda who asked that their name not be mentioned but who lived in the area for a long time said, “in our household alone my brother’s wife, her two children our elder brother who was a father figure for us, his child...and two people who helped us around the house bringing the total people killed in our household to eight.”
The resident stated they knew of 41 people who were killed in the area, and expressed with sadness that they could not find enough coffins to bury the bodies.
They explained that the victims were buried en masse saying, “they were buried in threes, fours and fives” in a single grave.
The resident say the area was under constant watch out of fear, but it was on the eve of the start of fast that day and residents had gone to get food when the attack took place.
The resident said children were among those killed in the attack “our elder brother’s two-year-old child, my other brother’s one year and seven-month-old child and other children were aged 14 and 15.”
The resident said the attack was carried out by the Shene group which targeted residents “wherever they encountered them” breaking into residential homes to carry out the killings.
Another resident of Bekuji Kebele of Bulen Woreda called the killing “horrific” and stated that burials for the dead were held on Saturday.
Another individual who identified themselves as a kebele militiaman when asked about the killed people said “there were fifteen women, sixteen children, four seniors, and five militias” dividing the persons killed by the militants by sex and age.
On Saturday over 40 people were buried said another resident, and on Sunday two people from among those sent to other areas for better medical care died and their remains were returned.
They said six infants were killed in the attack, and stated overall they classified children as those under 15 years of age.
The militia member said outside of the five militias who died while defending against the militants’ attack, the rest of the killed persons were struck inside their homes.
They emphasized that pregnant women were among the killed victims.
The local militia explained the circumstances of the attack to BBC stating that morning they were conducting security for the kebele when “they bypassed us, sneaking past towards the canal which was built for the dam along the Baar river” explaining how the perpetrators of the attack entered had arrived.
Afterwards the militants opened fire on the militia personnel they had snuck past at which time militias within the town came out and opened fire.
Afterwards they traveled towards a single neighborhood where they carried out the killing.
The attack was carried out by Shene militants according to the militia, and prior to this when they had carried out an attack on a neighboring area called Godore Kebele, militias from Chilanqo and Bekuji had went jointly to defend the area.
Beyond the killing, the militants looted shops and cattle and “opened fire in the Gishbabo area” located near the kebele where they killed other animals.
In an attack in 2013 EC the militia recalls being forced out from the area, and after returning those whose homes had not been burned returned to their homes, while others lived in canvases.
They said homes were also burned down “these too came and set fires before leaving.”
They raised repeated attacks in the area saying “we have become orphans” expressing their grievance.
They added that ENDF personnel entered the area on Sunday.
“The situation is beyond the capacity of militias”
The attack was carried out as a joint force consisting of regional state militias, police and riot dispersal personnel were deployed, says Bulen Woreda administrator Ato Nemera.
The area is always under “tension” says the woreda administrator, and that Shene militants are located “five, seven or ten kilometers away” from kebeles of the woreda.
According to the administrator though the Shene militants had never taken control of kebeles in Bulen Woreda, they have controlled between 4 to 12 kebeles in neighboring woredas.
House of Peoples’ Representatives member Dr. Mebratu says Shene militants have controlled areas in Dibate, Wenbera and Bulen Woredas over the past five years.
The woreda administrator says in operations to remove the threat of Shene from the area, the militants gained the upper hand at which time they carried out the killing.
Over five years ago a “mass killing” had been carried out in Bekuji Kebele of Bulen Woreda recalls Dr. Mebratu during which over 251 people were buried in a mass grave.
At this time security forces have been deployed to the area according to the parliament member and the woreda administrator which said the Shene militants have not traveled far from the area.
After the attack the national defense force reached the area after which the situation returned to calm said Ato Nemera to BBC.
The House of Peoples’ Representatives member described the killing as horrific, and said it was carried out by “Shene” militants operating in the area.
Shene militants began operating in the area over six years ago and had taken control of a select number of kebeles said Dr. Mebratu.
Bulen Woreda administrator Nemera said the recent attack was “beyond the capacity of the militias.”
He added that the “Shene” militants were equipped with weapons superior to those used by the militias.
The militants “don’t fight standing. They fire and run” so the fighting is “guerilla” style he explained.
Attacks have repeatedly been carried out in Bekuji Kebele of Bulen Woreda.
In Tahasass 2013 (between December 10, 2020 – January 8, 2021), Gumuz militants had carried out an attack in the area which left hundreds of people killed which the state had reported.
Prior to the recent attack the woreda and kebele had requested additional forces from the regional government.
Bulen Woreda administrator Ato Nemera Maru said the woreda has 22 kebeles and that the Shene militants did not control any territory.
However, they had been in eight to twelve kebeles in neighboring Dibate and four kebeles in Wenbera, and the ENDF had recently taken kebeles of Wenbera previously under control of Shene.
More than forty people were killed in Saturday’s attack and more than ten Shene militants had been killed said the administrator.
The militants “operated under illegal means to acquire wealth” said Ato Nemera, adding they operated under the belief “we will steal gold as this gold belongs to us.”
He said in order to "win support of the people and maintain it" they tell the Oromo residents in the area that they “have not been given economic or political power”.
In addition, the militants were operating to expand territorial control under the belief “Metekel belongs to us”.
The administrator stated in Bulen town and neighboring kebeles residents were living on “24 hour” standby in fear of attacks by the militants.
The local administrator stated that the Shene militants were stationed just a few kilometers away, and that operations were underway to remove the Shene militants from the area.
He said a joint force consisting of ENDF, police, riot dispersal and militia personnel were involved in the campaign.
