The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission stated on December 23 that at 4 o'clock that day, a gunman attack occurred in the Metkel area of Benshangul-Gumaz State in northwestern Ethiopia, killing at least 100 civilians.
Survivors said that as many as 500 gunmen surrounded them and the attack lasted several hours.
Previously, from September to October, there have been multiple attacks on civilians in the area, resulting in at least 200 deaths and thousands of people being displaced; in mid-November, another gunman attacked a bus in the area, killing at least 34 people death.
Officials in the area said they were verifying the identities of the attackers and victims, but did not provide more information.
According to local media reports, the Benshangul-Gumaz state government has arrested five security-related officials in the region.
The day before the attack, on December 22, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed went to Metkel to discuss with the local community and said that the federal government is cooperating with local security forces to find a lasting solution. The security crisis in the area.
The Metkel region is located in the northeastern part of the Benshangul-Gumaz region, adjacent to the Amhara region. There have always been conflicts between some ethnic groups in the region due to the distribution of land and resources.
(Headquarters reporter Wu Ting)