"More than 100 killed in latest ethnic massacre in Ethiopia
እንኳን ወደ ቀንበጥ ብሎግ በሰላም መጡልኝ።
ይህ ዓለም
አቀፍ ትኩረት አጥቶ የባጀው የመተከል የአማራ ህዝብ የዘር ጭፍጨፋ አክንዮ ዘገባ ዘጋርድያን፤ ዋሽንግተን ፖስት እና አምንስቲ ኢንተርናሽናል
የዘገቡት ነው። መልካም የንባብ ጊዜ። ሼር በማድረግ መተባባር ይገባል። እግዚአብሄር ይስጥልኝ።
More than 100 killed in latest ethnic
massacre in Ethiopia
By Associated
Press
Dec. 23, 2020
at 4:41 p.m. GMT+1
NAIROBI,
Kenya — More than 100 people have been killed in the latest massacre along
ethnic lines in western Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said
Wednesday, and the toll is expected to rise.
The attack in Metekel zone of
Benishangul-Gumuz region occurred a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited
the region and spoke about the need to end such massacres. Ethnic tensions are a major challenge as he
tries to promote national unity in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.
The attacks
are separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region,
where Ethiopian forces and allied regional forces began fighting Tigray
regional forces in early November.
Some people
in remote villages remained encircled and under threat on Wednesday evening,
with the death toll thought to be above 200, Belete Molla, head of the National
Movement of Amhara political party, asserted after speaking with residents.
Amnesty
International, which spoke with five survivors, said members of the ethnic
Gumuz community attacked the homes of ethnic Amhara, Oromo and Shinasha,
setting them on fire and stabbing and shooting residents. The Gumuz see
minorities as “settlers,” the rights group said.
Dozens of people are still
unaccounted for, Amnesty said.
The ruling party in the region, the
Benishangul-Gumuz Prosperity Party, said in a statement that armed bandits had
committed a “horrifying crime.”
Amharas are the second most populous
ethnic group in Ethiopia, and they have been targeted repeatedly in recent
weeks. One rebel attack on Nov. 1 in the far western Oromia region killed at
least 54 people, according to Amnesty International.
An attack in the Benishangul-Gumuz
region in early October killed at least 14 civilians, according to a security
official. It followed similar deadly attacks in September that also displaced
over 300 people, leading the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to say it was
deeply alarmed.
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2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
« Ethiopia: At least 100 dead in latest surge of violence against
ethnic minorities
23 December 2020, 18:51 UTC
Responding to the horrifying killing
of at least 100 people by armed assailants
in Ethiopia’s Benishangul -Gumuz Region on
the morning of 23 December, Netsanet Belay, Research and
Advocacy Director of Amnesty International, said: Amnesty
International said:
“This brutal attack against Amhara,
Oromo and Shinasha residents of villages in
Benishangul-Gumuz underscores the urgent need for the Ethiopian
government to act to stop violence against ethnic minorities.
"Amnesty International independently
interviewed via phone five survivors of the attack and one official from Bulen
District, all of whom described how armed members of the ethnic Gumuz community
attacked houses of people from the Amhara, Oromo and Shinasha communities
starting from around 5 am this morning. Perpetrators set homes alight
and stabbed and shot people.
“At least 100 deaths have been reported
so far. With dozens still unaccounted for and homes still ablaze, the
death toll is likely to rise and there must be an urgent
investigation into this horrendous attack. Perpetrators must be brought to
justice and the Ethiopian authorities must make clear that this kind of
violence will not be tolerated.
"While
Amnesty international is unable to verify identities of the perpetrators, this
attack appears to be the latest targeting of people of ethnic minorities in the
area. Since September 2020, there
have been successive waves of violence targeting the
ethnic Amhara, Shinasha, Oromo and Agew residents of Benishangul-Gumuz Region.
"In
September, armed people carried out multiple attacks
on ethnic Amhara
and Agew residents of Benishangul Region, killing at
least 45 people and displacing thousands. Today’s attack came less
than 24 hours after the Ethiopian Prime Minister discussed
security and reconciliation efforts in the
Benishangul-Gumuz Region - efforts which have been undermined by this massacre.”
According to the
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, at least 34 Amhara
and Agew people were killed by
armed Gumuz forces while
traveling by bus in Dibate District
of Benishangul-Gumuz Region in November
2020. The armed assailants refer to the non-Gumuz ethnic
minority communities as ‘Qey’ (literally translated as ‘red’),
in apparent reference to their fair skin colour.
Ethiopia’s Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed was in Metekel town on 22
December to discuss with regional officials how to
resolve repeated violence targeting
ethnic minorities in the region, who are perceived as 'settlers' by
members of the ethnic Gumuz community. »
https://www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=ethiopa+metekel&sort=relevance
„At least 102 killed in massacre in western
Ethiopia after Abiy visit
Witnesses
report knife and gun attacks and children shot by armed men after PM warning
over continuing ethnic conflicts
·
1,034
Witnesses
and officials said that at least 102 people were killed in the attack early on
Wednesday in the Metekel zone.
The attack occurred a day after the
prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, visited the region and spoke about the need to
bring to justice those responsible for the recent attacks.
The attacks are separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region where Ethiopian forces and allied regional
forces began fighting Tigray regional forces early November.
If
Ethiopia descends into chaos, it could take the Horn of Africa with it
Federal troops deployed in other regions of Africa’s
second-most populous nation were deployed to fight in that conflict, raising
fears of a security vacuum.
Even before the Tigray war erupted last month, Abiy’s
government had been grappling with rising insecurity in many parts of the
country. Violence between groups fighting over land and other resources has
forced many hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes following Abiy
taking office in 2018, according to UN estimates.
Ethnic tensions are a big challenge as Abiy tries to
promote national unity in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.
Belay
Wajera, a farmer in the western town of Bulen, told Reuters he counted 82
bodies in a field near his home after the dawn attack on Wednesday. He and his
family awoke to the sound of gunshots and ran out of their home as men shouted
“catch them”, he said. His wife and five of his children were shot dead; he was
shot in the buttocks, while four other children escaped and are now missing.
Another
resident of the town, Hassen Yimama, said armed men stormed the area at about
6am (0300 GMT). He told Reuters that he counted 20 bodies in a different
location. He grabbed his own weapon but assailants shot him in the stomach.
A local medic said he and colleagues had treated 38
injured people, most suffering from gunshot wounds. Patients had told him of
relatives killed with knives, and gunmen who set houses on fire and shot at
people trying to escape, he said.
“We weren’t prepared for this and we are out of
medicine,” a nurse at the same facility told Reuters, adding that a
five-year-old child had died while being transferred to the clinic.
'Slaughtered
like chickens': Eritrea heavily involved in Tigray conflict, say eyewitnesses
The attack came the day after the
prime minister and the military’s chief of staff, Birhanu Jula, and other
senior federal officials, visited the region to urge calm after a number of
deadly incidents between rival ethnic groups in recent months. The most recent
previous attack in the area was on 14 November, when gunmen
targeted a bus and killed 34 people.
“The desire by enemies to divide Ethiopia along ethnic
and religious lines still exists. This desire will remain unfulfilled,” Abiy
tweeted on Tuesday along with photographs of his meetings that day in the town
of Metekel. He said residents voiced a wish for peace and that the sentiment
“outweighs any divisive agenda”.
The prime minister’s spokeswoman did not immediately
respond to requests for comment about the attack on Wednesday. »
ሥርጉተ©ሥላሴ
Sergute©Selassie
ፈጣሪ ዓለምን፤ ሲዊዝን እና ኢትዮጵያን ይጠብቅ። አሜን።
አስተያየቶች
አስተያየት ይለጥፉ