At least 12 people were killed on Monday, October 12, by unidentified gunmen in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region of the country. A new drama like several massacres with sometimes ethnic overtones has bled this area in recent months.
as reported from Nairobi,
Local authorities insist: the killing has no ethnic roots. However, the versions differ. Melese Beyene, a spokeswoman for the regional state, spoke of an “act of revenge after the murder of an official’s brother”. Gashu Dugaz, head of the peace and security office, refers to “reprisals initiated by the family of an individual whose weapon had been stolen”. In any case, the authorities are talking about more arrests …
Security forces have been deployed in this region, where the presence of soldiers is already significant. Benishangul-Gumuz is actually on the Sudanese border. This is also where Ethiopia builds its very controversial Renaissance dam, over which the airspace was closed.
The opposition, which mainly represents the Amhara people, disputes the official version and assures that it is an ethnic massacre. Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, himself of Amhara ethnicity, even urged residents of the area to arm themselves in order to defend themselves.
This region has been hit by several carnage in recent months. At the beginning of the tensions, experts often cite land conflicts. Since the late 2000s, the government has identified Benishangul-Gumuz as a priority region for agricultural development.
Hundreds of thousands of hectares had been transferred to the hands of investors who did not take into account the traditional land subdivision. Many areas have been sublet, the residents have been expelled, which promotes a sense of injustice and a vengeance.
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