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Paper short abstract

Situating the #OB (Oromoo haa Baraaruu — Save Oromo) protest movement within the longue durée of Oromo resistance, this paper analyses how the spectacularisation of violence along the Oromia–Amhara border catalysed a new wave of mass mobilisation across the region.

Paper long abstract

Oromia is entering a new wave of mass popular mobilisation sweeping across the entire region. On 5 December 2022, footage and images depicting two decapitated heads mounted on pikes circulated widely across social media. The victims were Oromo residents of Wollega who had been labelled 'Shene' by Amhara militants commonly known as Fano. This occurred in the aftermath of recurrent drone strikes, mass displacement, and the burning of villages and harvests linked to violence along the Oromia–Amhara border districts, as well as the Ethiopian government's intensified military campaign against the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Western Oromia. The incident has been narrated as a modern-day echo of the imperial expansion of the late 1880s. It galvanised communities across Oromia, including the diaspora, and gave rise to a popular movement known as Oromoo haa Baraaruu (#OB) — meaning Save Oromo (#SO). The movement, commonly referred to as the #OB protest, erupted at Haramaya University in Eastern Oromia in direct response to the sustained organised violence perpetrated by both state and non-state actors in Western Oromia since 2018. As with the broader Oromo protest movement of 2014–2018, students and youth (Qeerroo) have been at the forefront of this mobilisation. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Oromia, Ethiopia, since September 2022, this paper examines the dynamics of the #OB movement and its implications for Ethiopian politics more broadly.