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The massacre is said to have taken place in Metekel, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the area and demanded that those responsible for past abuses be brought to justice.
The Ethiopian Commission for Human Rights (ECHR), close to the government, says that “more than 100 people have died in fires and shootings caused by armed men.”
According to the commission, there is cruel photographic evidence of the attack, which is said to have started before dawn while the inhabitants were still sleeping, and which lasted until the afternoon.
Shot and stabbed
According to the leader of the national Amhara movement, Belete Molla, more than 200 people have died in the massacre and many residents of the area remain surrounded and threatened by armed men.
Eyewitnesses the BBC has spoken to say that at least 90 people have died, and a nurse at a local clinic says they have received 30 injuries, several of them in critical condition.
Some of the victims have gunshot wounds, while others have been stabbed, according to the nurse.
A spokesperson for the authorities in the region, Beyene Melese, confirmed that a massacre had occurred.
Milits
“The exact number of deaths has not yet been determined, but there is information that it is very high,” he told the BBC.
It has not been determined who is behind the attack on the town, but according to Belete, they are members of the Gumuz militia.
The ruling party in the region, the prosperous Benishangul-Gumuz party, says that “armed bandits” are behind “this horrible crime.”
At the beginning of November clashes broke out in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where the government claims that regional authorities have rebelled.
Then-Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an attack on the provincial authorities. The Prime Minister received the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace agreement with Eritrea in 2019.
Map of Ethiopia and the province of Tigray.
Photo: AP
