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By Staff Reporter
October 15, 2020 (Ezega.com) – Ethiopia’s Amhara region has accused officials from the neighboring Benishangul Gumuz region of collaborating with gunmen in the massacre of the Amhara, Agew and Shinasha ethnic peoples.
The indictment comes after gunmen launched a new attack in the Mandura district of the Benishangul Gumuz region on the night of October 11, killing at least 12 innocent people of ethnic Amhara and Agew.
The head of the Benishangul Gumuz Region Security Office, Gashu Dugaz, told local media that the attack was triggered by a personal conflict that resulted in the death of an individual. “Another 11 were killed in revenge.”
The Benishangul Gumuz regional government announced that it has arrested the gunman who killed the civilians.
More than 100 ethnic Amhara, Agew and Shinasha people had been killed in Benishangul Gumuz since the eve of the Ethiopian New Year (10 September 2020) in three separate attacks.
Amhara Region Security Office Chief Sisay Damte said Benishangul Gumuz officials collaborated with the gunmen who he claimed were armed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Liberation Front. of Oromo rebel (OLF).
Sisay said the last attack was pre-arranged. It dismissed a statement issued by the Benishangul Gumuz Security Office as “false and unacceptable.”
Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen called the attack “outrageous” and was communicating with members of the Command Force in the region.
Demeke proposed that the people of the region should be armed to help them defend themselves from recurring attacks.
Last year, Ethiopia’s parliament passed a new gun control law amid rising deadly violence across the country.
The proclamation of Administration and Control of Firearms was seen as a key tool to combat insecurity in the country.
Under the new law, a person can own only one weapon and the sale and transfer of a weapon to a third party is prohibited.
It is unclear whether the government is considering arming people who are susceptible to similar attacks while living outside their region. Around 11 million ethnic Amhara people are believed to live outside the regional state of Amhara.
The federal government and the regional government of Benishangul Gumuz last month fired 45 officials from the region for their alleged involvement in the massacre of civilians of ethnic Amhara. At least ten of them are said to appear in court to face charges for facilitating the recurring attacks.
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