The Nuer Zone has effectively become an open-air prison since December 10, 2025. Access to medical
Tharrpam Gambella Road Must be secured
services in Gambella town has been denied to Nuer residents of the Nuer Zone. This situation is attributed to Lwa Chiri, an Anyuak insurgent movement reportedly seeking to dislodge the Nuer from their ancestral lands, where they have lived for centuries.
On December 24, 2025, Lwa Chiri—together with members of the Gambella Special Forces (Liyu Haile) from the Anyuak ethnic group and Anyuak members of the Gambella Police Force—attacked Tharpaam, a Nuer neighborhood. More than 80 people were killed, including couples and their children. Over 100 others were wounded, some critically.
Based on video footage recovered from the attackers, it is clear that this problem cannot be resolved through traditional elder mediation (የሀገር ሽማግሌዎች). Lwa Chiri appears to be an organized force and displays the characteristics of an insurgency campaign aimed at driving out its targets through terror and by choking supply lines.
On December 22, 2025, a convoy of two ENDF soldiers was forced to turn back to Gambella town from Abol by Lwa Chiri fighters. The soldiers were escorting Nuer elders who were attempting to travel to the Nuer Zone to assess internally displaced persons (IDPs). That mission did not proceed.
The Nuer cannot be expected to remain passive while their lifeline is deliberately blocked. The road closure affects not only the Nuer, but also Amhara, Oromo, Tigrayan, and Gurage communities who operate businesses in the Nuer Zone.
In some ways, non-Nuer communities are affected even more. The Nuer can survive on gamfo and milk produced on their farms. But what about those who do not eat gamfo or drink milk as a substitute for injera? What about tourism, which regional officials claim to be promoting in Gambella? And what about women requiring cesarean deliveries, which can only be performed at Gambella Hospital?
This is a grave situation. The Nuer must take responsibility for their own security. Insurgencies do not end quickly, and the Nuer Zone must recognize that it is facing an organized armed threat. Unless the Federal Government intervenes decisively and addresses the perpetrators of these killings—including those targeting women and children—this crisis will persist.
To ensure the continuation of essential supplies and to protect drivers and property along the road, Nuer community security forces should work in coordination with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. This cooperation should include the establishment of approximately 12 checkpoints from Berebereseb to Tharpaam.
Anyuak communities living adjacent to this road network—such as those in Abol and surrounding villages—should continue to live peacefully in their towns and villages. During the eras of Haile Selassie, Mengistu, and the EPRDF, there were no such problems, and there should be none under the Prosperity Party. What the Nuer seek is simple: safe and unhindered movement for passengers, goods, and vehicles along this road.
This article was prepared by Pam Chuol Joack, a Gambella Vision, Contributor
