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Ethiopia’s government dismissed allegations that its soldiers massacred scores of civilians last month in the country’s restive Amhara region as the West is demanding an investigation into the killings.
Ethiopia’s government dismissed allegations that its soldiers massacred scores of civilians last month in the country’s restive Amhara region as the West is demanding an investigation into the killings.
A rebellion broke out in Amhara — Ethiopia’s second-biggest province when the government moved to dissolve regional forces and absorb them into the federal army. Later, rebels captured several towns across the region before retreating to the countryside. Rights monitors have documented a range of human rights abuses by government forces during the conflict, including alleged extra-judicial killings.
Ethiopia’s state-appointed human rights commission says troops killed at least 45 civilians in the Amhara town of Merawi following clashes with a local militia in January. Another national rights body put the death toll at over 80. Both organizations said the killings included shootings that occurred during house-to-house searches. The United Kingdom urged a full investigation into events in Merawi, a day after the European Union called for a probe and dialogue to resolve the conflict in Amhara.
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Authorities have cut the internet in Amhara and in some locations, there is no phone service, making it difficult to verify events.