Five Oromo refugees die on the Sudanese-Libyan border

January 18, 2015 | Reported By Boruu Barraaqaa

According to a close source, five Oromo refugees have reportedly died and other wounded after they just crossed the border into Libya. The report did not identify the exact date and time of the accident, but confirmed that it happened over the last week.

More than half a dozen Oromo refugees were carried on the back of an old Toyota pickup owned by human traffickers when the accident happened. The car was heading from Khartoum to Tripoli, crossing the dangerous Sahara Desert with the haphazard fast speed.

Dunguje Itana (taken from her
Facebook profile)

The reason that caused the accident was also said to be driving with the highest speed in attempt to escape from the border police.

The source identified Dunguje Itana, a sister of Feven Itana, the famous Afan Oromo spiritual (Christian) singer, was one of the victims. Dunguje, who was a businesswoman and had her own house in Finfinne had gotten her house demolished by government forces under the pretext of ‘illegally built house,’ said the report.
She was left with no compensation for her demolished house; moreover, she had previously experienced prolonged persecutions by government militias in Finfinne over allegations of being an OLF supporter, the report added. 

According to one of her close friends, it was this political reason that forced her to flee to Khartoum, however, the city has never been a safe place for thousands of Oromo refugees like Dunguje from across Oromia. 

It is estimated that, in 2014 alone, more than 5000 Oromo refugees left Sudan for Egypt and Libya, looking for safe places and better lives. Among them, more than half have been forced to leave the capital, fearing day and night persecutions by the Ethiopian government security agents.