Fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara region leaves 183 dead: UN watchdog

Fighting between the Ethiopian army and militias in the Amhara region has killed at least 183 people, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, providing the most comprehensive independent death toll to date in the conflict that lasts a month

More than 1,000 people have been arrested across the country, many of them young people of Amhara ethnic origin, under a state of emergency decreed by the government to respond to the violence, the UN added in a statement.

The Ethiopian government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The conflict has been fueled by accusations among many in Amhara, Ethiopia’s second most populous region, that the government is trying to undermine their security. The government denies the accusation.

Government forces retook major towns and cities in the region earlier this month after initially being driven out by militias, but the conflict continues.

“With federal forces reasserting their presence in certain cities and Fano militias allegedly withdrawing to rural areas, we call on all actors to stop the killings, other rapes and abuses,” the UN statement said.

A partial view of the town of Lalibela in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022.REUTERS

At least four people were killed in renewed clashes that broke out in the town of Debre Tabor on Sunday, two medics said.

Clashes broke out about a week after the Ethiopian army entered the city, one of the medics said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

One of the doctors said he had seen the bodies of four people killed in the clashes and many wounded, including his father-in-law, who he said was shot in the chest by an unknown gunman near his home.

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The other doctor said that at least seven people had been killed: three civilians and four policemen, who were fighting in support of the military.

Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa; Written by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross and Nick Macfie

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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