The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Dec. 23 that at least 100 civilians were killed in an attack by gunmen at around 4 p.m. the same day in the Metekel region of the Benshangul-Gumuz region in northwestern Ethiopia. Survivors said up to 500 gunmen surrounded them at the time, and the attack lasted for several hours.
This comes on the heels of several attacks on civilians in the region between September and October, which killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands, and another attack by gunmen on a bus in mid-November, which killed at least 34 people.
Officials in the region said they were verifying the identities of the attackers and victims, but did not provide additional information. The Benshangul-Gumuz state government has arrested five officials in the region in connection with security matters, according to local media reports.
A day before the attack, on Dec. 22, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed traveled to Metekel to hold discussions with the local community and said the federal government was working with local security forces to find a lasting solution to the region’s security crisis.
The Meteker region, located in the northeastern part of the Benshangul-Gumuz region and bordering the Amhara region, has been experiencing conflicts between some ethnic groups in the region over land and resource distribution.
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