[ad_1]
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission expresses its alarm at the increase in attacks against civilians in the region.
Armed attackers have killed at least 15 people in western Ethiopia, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (ECHR).
Four of the victims of the pre-dawn assault on Friday in the Metekel area of the Benishangul-Gumuz region were women, the EHRC said in a statement, expressing “deep alarm” over an “increase in attacks against civilians” in the area.
At least two cases of violence earlier this month in the same border region with Sudan had killed civilians and forced at least 300 people to flee their homes.
“Civilians are being subjected to repeated attacks with utter cruelty in Benishangul-Gumuz,” said Daniel Bekele, director of the ECHR.
“Federal and regional authorities must take the necessary steps to enforce the rule of law and hold perpetrators to account,” Bekele added.
The EHRC did not say who was behind the attacks.
He said the Ethiopian National Defense Force took part in a shootout with the fighters in the area and was able to restore calm on Friday afternoon.
One person suffered non-fatal injuries, it added.
The attack poses the latest security challenge for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Abiy, who came to power in 2018, has implemented sweeping reforms that have earned him international praise but have also lifted the lid on long-suppressed tensions among the country’s many ethnic groups.
[ad_2]
