On January 31, the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia announced that on the evening of January 30, nine Chinese citizens were attacked in the town of Gebre Guracha, about 160 kilometers away from the capital Addis Ababa, in the northern Oromia State. 1 person was unfortunately shot and died.
On the evening of January 31, the reporter contacted Mr. Lu, a local Chinese, who is currently located in the capital Addis Ababa. Mr. Lu told the reporter that he only got the news from the Chinese embassy in Ethiopia. There is no local report, and the local Chinese are very concerned about the details of the incident. “In the two years since the armed conflict broke out, kidnapping and robbery have become a common occurrence in daily life. In the Oromia area where the incident happened, there have been two large-scale kidnappings in the past two months. We try to avoid going out at night as much as possible.” Mr. Lu said.
Mr. Lu showed reporters a reminder from the local Chinese community: At around 5:30 pm on January 30, 2023, I was driving from the Djibouti border to Dire Dawa, and suddenly I encountered a local man standing on the road The central (not in uniform) did not dodge or dodge, deliberately stood on the road to block the road, frightened the driver to brake quickly, after the car stopped, I saw clearly that the road blocker was carrying a machete behind his back and holding a small wooden stick in his hand I leaned closer to the co-pilot to see what was going on in my car. After seeing 3 of us, I asked for some money, but two locals refused. The passers-by immediately started smashing the car. The driver immediately stepped on the gas and fled. After escaping, I I asked the driver what was going on, and the driver replied that there was a possibility of robbery, because there were so many of us and the windows were closed, we refueled and ran away before the knife got into the car, and there may be other accomplices in the grass on both sides.
The Chinese made a friendly reminder: When encountering a similar situation on the road, pay attention to safety, do not get out of the car easily and talk about theories, you should slow down immediately and then speed up to leave at the right time to avoid people being hijacked directly.
Mr. Lu told the reporter that the local area is still so chaotic that the Chinese dare not hire local security guards. “Some Chinese people play cards and are tipped off by the local security guards. They know that if they have money at home, they will be robbed at night.” Mr. Lu told reporters, “If you hire local security guards who are not familiar with it, it is better to raise a few more dogs. The last time my friend’s house The barbed wire fence in the yard was cut, and a group of thieves in a van wanted to rob the house, but the two wolf dogs in the house were very fierce. They hesitated for a long time and didn’t go in. The neighbors told them about it the next day.”