A purported air strike that occurred this past weekend had killed about 26 persons in Amhara, Ethiopia, according to a hospital official on Monday, August 14.
This incident had occurred even after Federal forces pushed back Fano militiamen out of most of the important towns in Amhara. However, the clashes had continued in several parts of the region after that victory, according to a statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, EHRC.
The present conflict in the region, had been sparked by Fano men accusing the federal government of trying to weaken Amhara’s defenses.
This is Ethiopia’s biggest security situation since a two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region terminated in November 2022.
Ethiopia’s government has since denied the claims by Fano.
Meanwhile, the spokes person for the government, the military and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has yet to respond to requests for comment on Monday, about the alleged air strike that happened during the weekend or about EHRC’s statement.
A hospital official had said that the air strike had struck the town centre of Finote Selam on Sunday, August 13.
The hospital official who begged to be anonymous had also revealed that four people had died at the hospital, while the other 22 persons had died either at the scene or on their way to the hospital.
Fifty-five persons are currently being treated for injuries sustained in the aftermath of the explosion, the official had revealed.
The EHRC had in a statement it released on Monday, remarked that it had received ‘plausible’ reports that strikes and shelling in Finote Selam and other towns had resulted in civilian deaths but they had failed to highlight when these events happened.
The Human rights commission had also claimed that in Addis Ababa, the capital city, widespread arrests of civilians of ethnic Amhara origin had been made.
