Dozens killed as violence resumes in Ethiopia

SANAA, April 24 (YPA) – Violence has resumed in northwestern Ethiopia’s Amhra province, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of displaced areas.

Recent violence has fuelled concerns about the atmosphere in which national elections are supposed to be held in June, Swissinfo reported.

The violence, which began last week, focused on two administrative sections in the Province of Amhra, North Shoa and Oromo special zone, Ethiopia’s largest nationality, the agency said.

Officials in the two regions have so far refused to give an accurate toll, but Ethiopian chief mediator Endale Haile told AFP on Friday that about 200 people could have been killed in the clashes.

“We can say without fear of making a mistake that the death toll exceeds 100. Estimates indicate that 200 people have been killed,” the agency said, adding that the figures were “based on information collected from displaced persons.”

More than 250,000 people have been displaced by the violence in the northern Shoa region and more than 75,000 in the Oromo region, he said.

In March, violence in the same area left more than 300 people dead and displaced 50,000.

E.M