| Country: | Ethiopia |
| Details of Formation: | The group was created in 2007 by the Somali regional state and the federal government of Ethiopia to operate in the Somali regional state (some sources refer to 2008 as start date). It was established as a counter-insurgency force against a rebel group named the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). |
| Details of Termination: | In August 2018, the Ethiopian government sent its military to Jigjiga, the capital of Somali regional state. Clashes between the Liyu police and the federal troops followed. On August, 27, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, Somali’s president, to whom Liyu Police reported, was arrested and later charged of inciting inter-communal violence. The head of the Liyu Police, Abdirahman Labagolle, was arrested. |
| Purpose: | The group was originally established as a counterinsurgency and security force to fight against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a rebel group fighting for independence in Eastern Ethiopia. The Liyu Police was used to intimidate civilians suspected to support the ONLF and provided a façade for human right violations not to be associated with the military itself. In 2016, Liyu Police started to operate in the neighbouring Oromia regional state. Mentioned reasons for these activities are territorial expansion, economic advantages (including the looting of properties) and political incentives, as the federal government aimed at intimidating the Oromo and the leaders of their political party OPDO. The group was intended to suppress protests and to disguise centrally backed actions of the Ethiopian military as regional conflict. |
| Organisation: | Abdi Mohamoud Omar, known as Abdi Illey, was involved in the establishment of the Liyu Police when he was the security chief of the Somali regional state. Between 2010 and 2018, Abdi Illey was the president of the Somali regional state and the group reported directly to him. At times, the group was commanded by Abdullahi Werar, the vice-president of the region and later it was headed by Abdirahman Abdillahi Burale, who is known as Abdirahman Labagole. The group received funding by the Ethiopian federal government and had close links to the Ethiopian military. |
| Weapons and Training: | The group was armed with machine guns and other heavy weapons, including tanks and armoured vehicles. The Ethiopian government provided the group with arms and training. |
| Size: | In 2013, the group had between 10,000 and 14,000 members. The force strength increased to 42,000 in 2017. |
| Reason for Membership: | Most members came from the same clan as Abdi Omar. Others joined to protect their families from rebel attacks. It is also mentioned that prisoners were allowed to leave the jail if they joined the group. Monetary benefits might have been incentives for other to join, as members received salaries and were involved in looting. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The group was responsible for numerous human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions, rape, abductions and torture in the Ethiopian regional states Somali and Oromia and in Somalia, especially between 2013 and 2018. The Liyu Police conducted retaliatory operations against local communities and destructed villages in Somali region. According to UN information, an estimated 30 to 40 people were killed in May and June 2015 during fighting near the Somalia border. Raids by the Liyu Police in villages in Oromia region which started in 2016 caused the death of hundreds and the displacement of over 1 million people. In Ethiopia’s Jail Ogaden, which was controlled by the group, Liyu Police members were involved in rape, torture and humiliation of prisoners. |
| Other Information: | The groups name Liyu means “special” in Amharic language, and the group is also called Liyu Hayil. It was eventually based on the model of the Sudanese Janjaweed militias. Jail Ogaden in Jigjiga was administered and controlled by the Liyu Police and was closed in September 2018. |
| References: | Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD. |