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Scores of civilians were laid to rest in a mass grave in Dacawaley village following a brutal attack by the Liyuu Police, a predominantly Ogaden paramilitary force. The massacre threatens to unravel decades of carefully cultivated relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland, just weeks after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s December 11 pivot away from a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland in favor of negotiations with Mogadishu for access to sea.
The death toll continues to mount as survivors, many with severe injuries from gunshots and burns, seek treatment both at Hargeisa Group Hospital across the border in Somaliland and at medical facilities throughout Ethiopia’s Somali Region, particularly in the regional capital Jigjiga. Medical staff at multiple hospitals report being overwhelmed by the scale of casualties, with new victims arriving hourly.
The targeted community, part of the broader Isaaq tribe that forms the majority in neighboring Somaliland, has historically inhabited both sides of the Ethiopia-Somaliland border. These pastoral communities have maintained their traditional grazing patterns and social ties despite the formal international boundary, contributing to the historically strong relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
Somaliland’s Minister of Internal Security, Abdalle Mohamed Arab, condemned the massacre as “a gross violation of human rights,” emphasizing the targeting of pastoralist communities. Minister Arab led a high-level delegation to Jigjiga for urgent talks with Ethiopian federal and regional officials, including General Afgado, Commander of the Ethiopian National Defense Force’s Eastern Command. The discussions yielded a comprehensive agreement to cease hostilities, with unconfirmed reports suggesting Ethiopia’s federal government plans to deploy federal troops to the area while redeploying Liyuu Police forces elsewhere.
The fate of nearly sixty traditional elders from Somaliland, who had entered Ethiopia to mediate a grazing dispute with Ogaden pastoralists, remained unclear in the immediate aftermath of the violence. Images emerged of the delegation being transported in pickup trucks, and hours later they appeared in Jigjiga, the regional capital, in what appeared to be a carefully staged media event. The circumstances of their detention and transportation by the same forces responsible for the massacre raised serious concerns about their welfare and the coercive nature of their public appearance.
Dr. Edna Adan Ismail, former Foreign Minister of Somaliland and Special Envoy for Somaliland-Somalia talks, has issued an urgent appeal to the international community. Her intervention highlights the destruction of homes and mosques, and the tragic loss of innocent lives, including mothers and children, while calling for immediate protection of vulnerable communities and accountability for the perpetrators.
The Liyuu Police, operating as President Mustafe’s personal militia rather than a legitimate security force, has a documented history of extrajudicial killings, torture, and civilian displacement. Under Mustafe’s leadership, the force has increasingly been accused of using its state mandate to advance Ogaden clan interests, continuing a long-standing pattern of Ogaden dominance in the region’s governance structure that has historically excluded Isaaq representation. This entrenched political monopoly has allowed the force to operate with particular brutality against Isaaq communities.
Ethiopia’s federal government’s recent intervention marks a significant shift from its initial silence, suggesting growing concern over the destabilizing effects of the violence. The deployment of federal troops, if confirmed, would represent the first direct challenge to the Liyuu Police’s unrestricted operations in the region.
The assault appears designed not just to kill and maim, but to make the area uninhabitable for its Isaaq residents – a strategy that threatens to destabilize the intricate web of cross-border relations that have historically helped maintain regional stability. The systematic targeting of these communities risks undermining decades of diplomatic work between Addis Ababa and Hargeisa.
For the residents of Dacawaley, the attack represents more than just another incident of violence – it stands as evidence of state-sponsored terror orchestrated by President Mustafe’s administration to advance tribal interests under the guise of regional security. As casualty numbers continue to rise, the massacre adds to a growing list of atrocities for which the regional president and his paramilitary force must be held accountable.
The targeting of civilians by the Ogaden-dominated Liyuu Police threatens to destabilize an already fragile regional balance, where colonial boundaries have failed to erase centuries-old tribal bonds and rivalries. As international attention focuses on the massacre, the incident highlights not only the dangerous intersection of state power and tribal politics but also the potential unraveling of strategic partnerships that have long underpinned stability in the Horn of Africa.
