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Gunmen in western Ethiopia have killed at least 34 people in an attack on a bus, the national human rights body said on Sunday.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (ECHR) said the number of people killed is likely to rise after what it called a “gruesome” attack on the passenger bus in the Benishangul-Gumuz region on Saturday.
The EHRC also said that “there are reports of similar attacks” in three other areas, including people “who have fled for refuge.”
“The latest attack is a terrible addition to the human cost that we collectively bear,” Daniel Bekele, head of the commission, said in a statement.
Security crisis increases
Fears of a security vacuum in the country are growing amid a military campaign in the northern region of Tigray.
Similar attacks occurred in the same region in recent months. An attack in October left 12 dead and 15 were killed there in September.
“The relentless pace of attacks against civilians in Benishangul-Gumuz calls for heightened vigilance and more coordinated action between regional and federal security forces,” Bekele said.
He continued with a call for cooperation: “We urge federal and regional security and judicial authorities to work together, and in consultation with the local community, to redesign a regional security strategy that can put an end to these attacks.”
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held neighboring Sudan responsible for training those who carried out the earlier attacks.
No link to the Tigray conflict
No connection was known between the attacks in Benishangul-Gumuz and the recent violence that erupted between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigray fighters.
The 12-day conflict in Tigray had already raised concerns that the ethnic conflict could spread to other parts of the region.
More to come …
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