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Gunmen have killed more than 100 people in the western Ethiopian region of Benishangul-Gumuz, according to the government-aligned Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
The latest attack is not directly related to the ongoing separatist conflict in Tigray, although analysts suggest that the concentration of soldiers and security forces in the north around Tigray has created a security vacuum in the rest of the country.
At least 102 people were killed in the attack Wednesday morning. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has released images of the scene of the massacre, taken by survivors, describing the images as “disturbing evidence.”
In #EthiopiaBenishangul-Gumuz, an armed group that fired on residents, set houses on fire while they slept, killing at least 100 people.
The attacks followed the departure of federal troops positioned to restore calm, a sign of a serious decline in human rights protection there. pic.twitter.com/TglREUuK0z
– Ethiopia Human Rights Commission (@EthioHRC) Dec 24, 2020
Belay Wajera, a farmer in the western city of Bulen, told Reuters news agency that he counted 82 bodies in a field near his home after the attack at dawn on Wednesday.
He and his family woke up to the sound of gunshots, he said. Wajera’s wife and five of their children were shot dead; they shot him in the back. Four other children who escaped are now missing.
Another city resident, Hassen Yimama, said gunmen stormed the area at dawn. He told Reuters that he had counted 20 bodies in an area separate from that described by Belay Wajera. The assailants shot Yimama in the stomach.
A local doctor said he and his colleagues had treated 38 wounded people, most with gunshot wounds. Patients had told him about family members killed with knives and gunmen setting houses on fire and shooting at people trying to escape, he said.
Other survivors told EHRC officials that the attackers had destroyed crops. One witness counted 18 fires in the fields. Some of the survivors claim to have recognized the attackers.
The attack came just a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Army Chief of Staff Birhanu Jula visited the region to urge calm after a series of clashes between rival ethnic groups in recent years. months. The most recent incident in the area was on November 14, when 34 passengers on a bus were killed.
Security was briefly strengthened in the area earlier this week, in preparation for the visit by the government and army leaders, but survivors of Wednesday’s attack say there were no police or service soldiers on duty when the assault was launched. Federal forces have been concentrated in northern Ethiopia since fighting broke out in Tigray in November.
The western region of Benishangul-Gumuz is shared between people of the Shinasha, Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups, according to the EHRC. Prime Minister Ahmed has blamed Sudan for the instability in western Ethiopia, calling on Khartoum to strengthen border security against the transit of fighters who Abiy claims are trained and armed on Sudanese territory.
There has been no official statement from the prime minister’s office on the latest attack.
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