Ethiopia: 170 armed Sudanese fighters killed

ADDIS ABEBA, Aug. 16 (YPA) – The Benishangul Gumuz region in Western Ethiopia said, in a statement issued on Saturday that more than 170 “anti-peace elements” who entered the country from Sudan had been killed.

 It added the militants planned to create terror, kill civilians and disrupt Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ethiopia’s 4.8-billion-dollar dam has raised concerns in the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.

Last year, more than 100 people were killed in attacks in the Benishangul Gumuz region that targeted members of the Amhara, Oromo and Shinasha communities.

 The statement issued on Saturday said that fighters for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) were among those killed, in fighting that had continued until Friday.

 The regional government described the fighters as “anti-peace elements” and “TPLF agents” in what appeared to suggest that the TPLF is supporting groups in other parts of the country against the government.

E.M