This attack is the latest in a deadly series in recent months in the west of the country. According to local leaders, these attacks are carried out by members of the Gumuz ethnic group and motivated by ethnic factors.
Le Monde avec AFP
The death toll of the attack carried out Wednesday, December 23 in western Ethiopia by armed men rose to 207 dead, according to a statement consulted on Saturday, December 26 by Agence France-Presse (AFP) of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which previously reported 100 casualties.
The independent government body, EHRC, said residents of Metekel, an area in the region of Benishangul-Gumuz, had been attacked by bullets on Wednesday before dawn, in their sleep.
This attack is the latest in a murderous series in recent months in this area where the Oromo, Amhara – the two most numerous in the country – and Shinasha ethnic groups live. According to local leaders, these attacks are carried out by members of the Gumuz ethnic group and motivated by ethnic factors.
“Thousands” of displaced people
“[The commission] continues to follow the situation in Benishangul-Gumuz with the competent authorities and confirms that the results of the attack which took place (…) in the early hours of December 23, 2020 rose to 207 [dead] “, specifies the text published on Friday evening . “The effort continues to identify the victims with the help of survivors and identity cards,” adds the commission, adding that the victims, mostly men (133 killed), also include women, children and elderly.
The EHRC reiterates its call for an “urgent humanitarian aid” and is concerned about the number of displaced people, noting that more than 10,000 residents of the town of Bekuji Kebele flee in the direction of the town of Bulen, one of the main towns in the area, which already hosts “thousands” of displaced people. “The roads leading to the city are full of displaced people and their cattle, who are marching towards the city,” the Commission wrote.
On Thursday, regional authorities announced that the Ethiopian army had killed 42 armed men accused of taking part in the massacre, without specifying who they were.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed , who called the attack a “tragedy”, in October attributed the violence in the area to fighters from neighboring Sudanese state of Blue Nile, where they are “armed and trained”, and called on Khartoum to settle the situation. problem.
He said Thursday that this latest attack was aimed at “scattering the large force” mobilized as part of the ongoing military operation in Tigray (north); a conflict a priori unrelated to the violence in Benishangul-Gumuz.