 On December 28, 2012, 147 members of the Suri tribe - most of whom were women and children - were massacred by Ethiopian government soldiers trying to evict them from their land.
The Suri people live in southern Ethiopia, in the Bench Maji Zone. The Suri are divided into three groups known as Chai, Tirmaga and Balessa, Suri is a united name of these three groups. These tribes are similar to the Mursi living on the other side, the east bank, of the Omo River. These four tribes have similar cultures and share the same language and customs. They practice stick fighting, pierce their lower lips and ears, herd cattle, cultivate sorghum and maize and are attractive to tourists. Today the land grabbing foreign investors, some western governments, and bad donors like DFID, USAID, China, India, European Union and Saudi Arabia; their actions are leading to disaster.
The reason for the massacres happening now is the resettlement plans. The Suri people were told to leave their place and go to a new government chosen resettlement site, because the area was leased to a gold mining company. These Suri resisted moving out of this area and the gold mining people were having difficulties to expand the digging.
In the morning, the Ethiopian army came to the Balessa Suri village called Beyahola (meaning white rock) and surrounded the villagers and the village. The army arrested all the people in the village, men, women and children, and they tied all of the villagers’ hands together and drove them deep into the Dibdib forest and shot and killed all of them, except seven young people who escaped. It was a small village of 154 people. This Suri girl in the middle in the picture above, was killed, see the below picture where she is dead. The government tried hard to control the people not to report this massacre, but thanks to God the news came out. These are human rights violations, in southwest Ethiopia. Why is the American government and the UK government supporting the Ethiopia government? Aren’t they supposed to be fighting terrorism not supporting it?
The dead bodies are buried in mass graves deep inside Dibdib forest and some bodies were transported to gold mining holes not far from the Dibdib forest. Some bodies were left out and eaten by vultures and predators. Most of the children were thrown into Akobo River. After the massacre, the army sent warnings all around the area that if anyone reports about this, the army will do things to these people who report, and more, even worse, things to the Suri.
The nonstop massacre of the Suri tribe is still going on and growing worse every month, but no one has reported about it. In the west, if a few people are murdered it will make the media headlines, but for the human beings living in southwestern Ethiopia no one really talks about it. What the Ethiopian government does to the pastoral people in southwestern Ethiopia, still has not become known. Press Release: Africa Oil Corp. – Mon, Jan 14, 2013 2:00 AM EST VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan 14, 2013) - Africa Oil Corp. ("Africa Oil" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:AOI) (AOI.ST) is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling operations on the Sabisa-1 well in the South Omo Block in Ethiopia. The well was spud on January 13, 2013 by the Operator, Tullow Oil Plc ("Tullow") and is currently drilling ahead. The well is expected to take approximately 60 days to reach the planned total depth of 2,600 meters. Africa Oil holds a 30% working interest in the block with Tullow holding a 50% interest and Agriterra Limited ("Agriterra") holding the remaining 20% interest. Marathon Oil Ethiopia B.V. ("Marathon") has announced a transaction to purchase Agriterra''s interest in the South Omo Block. This transaction is subject to Ethiopian Government approval. The South Omo Block is located in the northern portion of the Tertiary East African Rift trend where Africa Oil and their partner, Tullow, have made two significant discoveries in the Lokichar Basin of Kenya. The Sabisa well is located on a similar structural feature as those two discoveries, along a major basinal fault trend. The basin that this well is located in is slightly younger in age than the Lokichar Basin. One of the primary goals of this well is to prove that the petroleum system extends to the north which could open up a new sub-basin if successful. There are numerous prospects and leads on trend with Sabisa. Partners are currently acquiring 1,000 km of 2D seismic data in the Chew Bahir Basin, located in the eastern portion of the block. Prospects identified from this newly acquired survey could provide future drilling candidates that would test another sub-basin within the Tertiary rift trend. Africa Oil President Keith Hill commented, "This is an exciting well which has the potential to de-risk a large portion of our current portfolio of prospects. With the aggressive exploration campaign planned with our partners Tullow and Marathon in 2013, we will have the opportunity to dramatically change the profile of the Company in the upcoming year. With our recent financing completed, we are well situated to execute one of the most exciting exploration campaigns in the world class East African play fairway." FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements made and information contained herein constitute "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation). Such statements and information (together, "forward looking statements") relate to future events or the Company''s future performance, business prospects or opportunities. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to estimates of reserves and or resources, future production levels, future capital expenditures and their allocation to exploration and development activities, future drilling and other exploration and development activities, ultimate recovery of reserves or resources and dates by which certain areas will be explored, developed or reach expected operating capacity, that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Statements concerning proven and probable reserves and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements and reflect conclusions that are based on certain assumptions that the reserves and resources can be economically exploited. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect, "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward- looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, changes in oil prices, results of exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government or other regulatory approvals, actual performance of facilities, availability of financing on reasonable terms, availability of third party service providers, equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
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