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By Staff Reporter
September 27, 2020 (Ezega.com) – Government troops killed eight armed men in counterattacks in the Metekel area of Ethiopia’s Benishangul Gumuz regional state, a military general said.
The gunmen, considered bandits by the military authorities, had massacred at least 150 ethnic Amhara, Agew and Shinasha in the same region over three months.
The latest was the killing of at least 20 civilians in the town of Dengez, in the Dangur district, which took place around midnight.
Gunmen also killed at least 89 ethnic Amhara, Agew and Shinasha two weeks ago in protracted attacks in Wenbera and the Bulen district of the same region.
“We launched a counterattack after receiving information about the killings around 6:00 am,” said Brigadier General Negari Tolina, commander of the 22nd regiment under Western command of the Ethiopian National Defense.
The attackers had tried to escape, but eight of them were killed in counterattacks, he said, although the killing is not confirmed by a third party.
Some of the gunmen fled in disarray, abandoning some of their military equipment, said Negari, who did not speak whether there were gunmen who surrendered.
The commander said the army is conducting multiple military operations to defeat gunmen believed to be armed with heavy weapons.
Massacre, banditry and looting of property belonging to the Amhara, Agew and Shinasha ethnic groups and other criminal activities have recently become widespread in the Benishangul Gumuz region after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power in April 2020.
The military commander said they are in control of the situation with multiple ongoing operations against the gunmen.
Meanwhile, the Federal Attorney General said he has filed lawsuits against 5,728 suspects for the killings of more than 200 civilians that occurred following the death of prominent Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa in late June.
The suspects have been accused of participating in identity-based attacks, the attorney general said in announcing the completion of his investigation against them on Friday.
In a briefing delivered jointly with the Oromia Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General Fikadu Tsega said that 3,377 of the suspects will face the charges in the federal courts and the 2,351 will face the charges in the Ormia courts and be charged with 114 and 374 files. respectively.
Attorney General Gedeon Timoteos said many people participated in the attack, although some opposition forces blame the government for participating in a mass arrest. According to the lawyer, some politicians were also detained for their alleged participation in the attack and not for their political ideology.
Fikadu said the suspects who were identified with the least involvement in the attack will be released on bail starting next week.
The Attorney General’s Office in a statement said 167 people died, 360 others were injured and 4.67 billion properties were destroyed during the July violence that followed the popular singer’s death.
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