Ethiopian army accused of killings in restive state

Amnesty International has accused Ethiopia’s military of extrajudicial killings, mass detentions and torture.

It has released a report that documents crimes allegedly committed by soldiers throughout 2019, the same year Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his efforts to reform the country.

Amnesty says the army executed 39 people in Oromia state since January 2019 – the victims including four members of the same family.

It says the killings were carried out by forces from an Ethiopian military command post created to combat the Oromo liberation Army – a rebel group operating in the region.

The report also details mass arrests and re-education programmes for suspected supporters of the armed group.

Amnesty has also documented the alleged role of security forces in inter-communal violence in the north-western Amhara state. It says at least 130 people were killed in January 2019 in inter-communal clashes between the Amhara and Qimant communities.