Ethiopian forces killed ‘at least 45 citizens’ in Amhara, Human Rights Commission says

Ethiopian forces killed ‘at least 45 citizens’ in Amhara, Human Rights Commission says

Ethiopian forces extrajudicially killed ‘at least 45 citizens’ in door-to-door raids in Amhara, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says

 

Ethiopia's federal security forces massacred at least 45 civilians in Amhara state in late January, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is independent and state-affiliated.

 

Witnesses told the BBC a pregnant woman was among those shot.

She later died in hospital, according to medics.

 

The Ethiopian government has not commented on the killings. Both the US and EU are calling for an independent investigation.

 

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission - EHRC

The EHRC said in a statement that it had verified "the identity of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government security forces for allegedly 'supporting [ethnic Amhara armed group] Fano'."

 

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

 

The killings in the Amhara town of Merawi follow months of clashes last year between Ethiopia’s military and Fano, a “self defence” organisation with no publicly known command structure that draws volunteers from the local population.

 

The fighting prompted the federal government to impose a state of emergency inAugust that politicians extended by four months, this month.

 

There has also been an increase in dangerous drone activity in the area.

 

Tewodrose Tirfe, chairman of the US-based advocacy group Amhara Association of America, told Al Jazeera in December that his organization has collected data on about 70 drone attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties in the Amhara region since May.

 

The Ethiopian army is the sole operator of armed drones in the Horn of Africa country.

Last week, the United States said it was deeply concerned by reports of “targeted civilian killings” in Merawi and called for an independent investigation.

 

The Amhara violence is Ethiopia’s most serious crisis since a peace agreement was signed in November 2022 to end a two-year conflict in the neighbouring region of Tigray.