The Covert Genocide

The Covert Genocide is the first comprehensive account of the horrors that befell Ethiopia's Somali region during the reign of Abdi Mohamoud Omar-commonly known as Abdi iley-who ruled over the Somali inhabited parts of Ethiopia between 2010 and 2018. In this book Abdulkadir Ali 'Bureida' offers an incisive assessment of the Abdi iley years. His reign of terror claimed the lives of thousands of Somalis in Ethiopia. It lastingly damaged-physically, mentally and socially-a good part of the community. As the federal government's main pillar of the counter-insurgency against the reel Ogden National Liberation Front (ONLF) Abdi iley acted as a state within the state. On his and his officials' orders countless civilians, political competitors and suspected and real ONLF supporters were arrested, tortured and killed across the region. Drawing over 700 interviews with witnesses and survivors, The Covert Genocide provides the reader with an insider's account of the atrocities, arbitrary violence and terror that were the hallmark of the Abdi iley period. Making use of history, philosophy, psychology and his first-hand observations as a prisoner of conscience in the infamous Jail Ogaden, the author sheds light both on the systematic human rights abuses by Abdi iley's officials and paramilitary 'Liyu' or special police and the broad political context, which enabled it. Equal part historical account, political account, political analysis and human rights reporting, the book offers crucial testimony of the Abdi iley period. A powerful tribute to the victims of state sponsored violence, the Covert Genocide is a reminder that accountability for the many injustices committed continues to be wanting.

Some readers will be tempted to discard or downplay the findings of this book as essentially a Somali problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ethiopia' former EPRDF government not only tolerated, but enabled the many atrocities against civilians that took place as part of the governments' counterinsurgency. The ongoing impunity of former and current officials and security forces-including parts of the ONLF-continues to be a major obstacle for reconciliation and healing not only in Somali region, but in Ethiopia altogether.

Recent atrocities by warring parties in the Tigray conflict are a spark reminder that Ethiopia has so far failed to address or learn from its recent past. The Covert Genocide is a stark reminder that as long as political elites refuse to acknowledge these past injustices and their victims, they are likely to repeat themselves in the future.
Tobias Hagmann, visiting professor, Roskilde University (Denmark) and Senior Programme Officer, Swisspeace (Switzerland).