More than 100 people shot dead by gunmen in Ethiopia
More than 100 people shot dead by gunmen in Ethiopia
The attack was reportedly carried out at dawn, while the victims were sleeping
Gunmen killed more than 100 people in an attack in westernEthiopiaon Wednesday (December 23rd), the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said. The independent governmentagency said in a statement that "more than 100 people were killed by gunfire" in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The Commission said it had received "disturbing photographic evidence" from survivors of the pre-dawn attack on "sleeping residents" in the Metekel area, which continued until Wednesday afternoon.
At least 36 other people were treated for injuries, including gunshot wounds, at a hospital in Bulen, about 90 km from the site of the attack, the Commission said. "In addition to the damage done to people's lives and their bodies, crops have been burned. One victim told us that he saw 18 fires," the agency said. There were "no police or security forces" stationed in the area at the time. Armed forces had been sent to the area on Tuesday to calm tensions, but they left soon after. Some of the victims of the attack said they knew the attackers, the commission added, adding that humanitarian aid would be sent to the area to help displaced and injured people.
Ethnic attacks
The area is home to people from the Shinasha, Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups, according to the Commission. The Amhara ethnic group is the second largest in the country. The attack is the latest in a bloody series in recent months. In October, 12 civilians were killed in the same area. And the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission had already reported the deaths of 15 civilians in the metekel area on 25 September, calling the violence "targeted killings".
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in October attributed the recent violence in the west to fighters trained in Sudan, and called on Khartoum to stabilize Sudan's border region of Blue Nile, where he said the fighters are trained and armed. Until now, the authorities in Addis Ababa had spoken little about the drivers of violence in Benishangul-Gumuz state, which opposition leaders attributed to ethnic factors.
Violence across the country
Opposition politicians, mostly from the Amahra community, have been sounding the alarm for weeks about what they describe as a targeted campaign by ethnic gumuz militias against the Amhara and Agew living in the Metekel area. According to them, more than 150 civilians were killed in the attacks, figures that could not be independently confirmed. The violence shows that prime minister Abiy Ahmed's openness has unleashed local territorial ambitions and former inter-communal disputes, which have led to deadly violence in many parts of the country.
The Prime Minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, also launched a military offensive in the breakaway region of Tigre inearly November. No precise death toll from the conflict in Tigre is available, but fighting has pushed more than 50,000 people to seek refuge in neighbouring Sudan and displaced more than 63,000 within the region, according to the UN.
Source:- Flash News and News Agencies