Zegabi

Five selfless Afar youngsters performed extraordinary heroism involving in suicide bombing and killing artillery shooters who were firing at civilians in Abaala, a border town in Ethiopia’s Afar regional state.

The five heroes were selected by Afar traditional leaders in an assembly which finally passed a resolution deciding to neutralize the shooters by suicide bombers.

The shooters were members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) force which currently is fighting against the Ethiopian joint forces along border areas in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions.

The heavy weapons’ shooters reportedly had killed civilians and inflicted heavy damage on Abaala which has been used as a home town for both ethnic Afar and Tigrayan people.

Thousands of the ethnic Afar residents have fled the town following unfolding bombings and attacks from ethnic Tigrayan neighbors since the conflict erupted in the town last August.

Last week, TPLF forces took control of the town with the help of those ethnic Tigrayan residents who served as combatants there.

The Afar special force and militia regrouped and managed to chase the TPLF fighters from the town early this week after heavy sacrifices.

Some of the TPLF fighters who retreated to mountainous Arefaay area in Tigray region, however, continued bombing the town, using heavy weapons.

Finally, the Afar traditional leaders selected five volunteer suicide attackers and sent them to Arefaay mountain armed with explosives and “dying to kill” mission.

Then the selfless Afar heroes denoted their explosives and died side by side with the artillery shooters.

The traditional leaders now have demanded the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) to take control of  the mountainous Arefaay area to avoid similar attacks against civilians.