Ethiopia's government security forces kill over 45 civilians in January slaughter

2024-02-14 04:55:41

(MENAFN) The independent state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission revealed on Tuesday that Ethiopia's government security forces were responsible for the deaths of at least 45 civilians in a massacre that occurred in Amhara state in late January.

The EHRC stated that it had verified "the identity of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government security forces" in the town of Merawi. The killings were allegedly carried out on the suspicion of supporting an ethnic Amhara militia called Fano.

“However, it can be assumed that the number of victims is even higher,” it pointed out.

In a different part of Amhara earlier in the month, at least 15 other individuals, including women, lost their lives during a door-to-door search conducted by government forces, as reported by the EHRC.

The killings in Merawi occurred following months of clashes in the previous year between Ethiopia's military and Fano, an ethnic Amhara militia. The events prompted the United States last week to urge for an investigation into the matter.

Additionally, according to the EHRC, security forces in Merawi rounded up and detained an unspecified number of individuals suspected of being affiliated with Fano.

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