Home » Death toll reaches 207 in western Ethiopia “massacre”: Red Cross

Death toll reaches 207 in western Ethiopia “massacre”: Red Cross

by basicact

On Wednesday December 23, armed men attacked the western Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia killing at least 100 men on spot. The area of attack is a village named Bulen County in the Metekel zone, an area where several ethnic groups are residing. The barrage exactly occurred a day after the visit of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, addressing a need to bring immediate justice to those responsible for the recent violations.                                                                                                                                                                            A farmer named Belay Wajera told the reporters of Reuters that he himself counted 82 bodies lying in a field near his home. He and his family awoke to the sound of gunshots. His wife along with 4 children was shot to death while he was shot in the buttocks. His other 4 children escaped and are still missing to date.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Another survivor named Hassen Yimama told that reporters that gunmen stormed the area about 6 in the morning. He too counted 20 bodies in different parts of the region. Before he could grab his weapon, he was shot in the stomach.                                                                                                                                                              A local consultant told the reporters that he along with his colleagues treated 38 individuals who were wounded by gunshots. However, victims of knife wounds were also treated at the facility. Gunmen set the victims house’s on fire and had killed those who tried to escape.                                                                                            A nurse at the same facility told: “We weren’t prepared for this and we are out of medicine”grieving the death of a 5-year-old that died while being shifted to the clinic.                                                                                                                 

Noting the attacks are detached from the from the destructive conflict in the Northern Tigray region of Ethiopia occurred on November 9 and ended on November 10, killing about 600 civilians and a hundred injured on the basis ofethnic cleansing”.  The Samri perpetrators and Amhara militia along with Ethiopian federal forces are said to be involved in the incident. However, the most recent assault before this incident was when armed men targeted a bus and killed about 34 men on spot. The assaulters were still to be identified yet. Daniel Bekele, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission head states: “The latest attack is a grim addition to the human cost which we bear collectively.”                                                                                                            Prime Minister Abiy on his twitter released a statement saying: “The desire by enemies to divide Ethiopia along ethnic and religious lines still exists. This desire will remain unfulfilled.”                                                                                      He said residents’ wish for peace “outweighs any divisive agenda”.                                                                                                       One of the greatest challenges faced by Abiy is promote unity in a country which is home to 80 different ethnic groups.

Recent death toll

According to volunteer MeleseMesfin“Yesterday we buried 207 people who are the victims and 15 more from the attackers,”told Reuters News Agency this Friday.                                                                                                 A report suggests that estimated 40000 people have fled their homes due to skirmishes and violence in the recent years. However, Wednesday attack was a recent episode of fatal violence. The Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed termed the incident as a “massacre” and immediately sent troops that were successful in killing 42 people involved in the horrific incident.

Background

Strains between Ethiopia’s ethnic groups have risen since Prime Minister Abiy took office in 2018. Elections due in next June have given further rise to unrest and dispute over land, power and resources. Abiy has been facing unrest since his latest reforms which includes release of political prisoners and journalists. However, a group named Heego (loyal to former president Abdi Illey) and the region’s Liyu police carried out attacks killing dozens of people. According to the Ethiopian Orthodox church about eight of its churches were scorched and more than 15 people were burned alive which included 7 priests. Abdi Illey was arrested in August, he still remains in government custody but is not charged however.                                                                                                                                                                                           The Jijiga office of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was also burned and the staff beaten. Sources claim that the incident occurred to stop the commission from investigating human rights abuse cases in the area. However, the government has still to decide about the disbandment of the Liyu police despite their recent carrying of attacks.  For example, the Liyu police allegedly killed 41 people and injured another 20 in Oromia’s Eastern Harerege. At least 15 people were assassinated in different areas of the country, a reason is rioting and ethnically charged mob justice. Since September, the members of Amhara, Shinasha, Oromo and Agew communities have experienced waves of violence.

JosepBorell, the European Union’s top diplomat issued a statement on behalf of the bloc saying that violence related to ethnicities should be investigated individually.                                                                                                                  Ethiopia has over 2 million internally displaced people, including almost 1 million expatriates in April and June due to inter-communal clash between Guji and Gedio communities in Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). In early August, at least 145,000 more people were displaced in Somali and Oromia district states due to new fighting. In September, ethnic violence displaced an estimated 15,000 people from the suburbs of Addis Ababa. Despite signs of likely clashes, the government failed to prevent assaults, resulting in further displacement. Except for humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch is not aware of sustainable federal government efforts to address inter- ethnic violence and internal displacement.  Ethiopia is also undergoing unrest in the Oromia district and faces long-running safety pressures from Somali troops along its porous eastern border. In a different part of the country, the Ethiopia’s military has been fighting in the northern Tigray region with rebels from the past 6 weeks and this conflict has resulted in the displacement of more than 950000 people. The deployment of centralized troops there has raised terrors of a security vacuum in other agitated areas.   

 The European Union is diligently following the crisis in Ethiopia and is apprehensive about the humanitarian state, added Borrell, describing reports of the continued connection of non-Ethiopian actors as disturbing. Insecurity is still a major problem despite the reforms of Abiy.

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