Five Ethiopian drivers were killed by militants in the last 10 days only. It was disclosed by Tana Drivers Association in a statement today. The Tana Truck Drivers Association says that the killing of drivers, the arrest of passengers, and the unlawful payment of toll taxes is ongoing.
“Recently in the Amhara region; A driver was killed near Maksegnet; before that, another driver was also killed there,” it said. The attacks on drivers are happening in different regions. “A driver was killed in the Oromia region too,” the association said.
“In total, 3 drivers have been killed in the Oromia region recently; we have received information that the passengers who were travelling in Tata were kidnapped (outside Ondalcho),” it said. The association recalled that the attacks had been observed repeatedly in the past too.
In addition, drivers said that the illegal payment of more than 2,000 birr, which is called ‘kote’, has not stopped in the Oromia region. The association confirmed that this complaint was correct and illegal toll tax was being collected by different armed groups.
The Ministry of Transport and Logistics recently promised to protect drivers and deploy federal police along main routes. But situation did not improve.
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Thid is really worrisome, it has to stop