Nearly 100 killed in Ethiopia

2004-01-16 14:05

Addis Ababa - An independent human rights group in Ethiopia said Friday that 93 people were killed last month during ethnic unrest in the western Gambella region, many more than the number released by the government, which the group accused of failing to prevent the bloodshed.

"The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) has managed to get the names and identities of 93 people who were killed, and the names of 42 others who sustained light and serious injuries," EHRC said in a statement.

Government officials still insist that the death toll in Gambella is 57 and denied any official involvement in the unrest.

More than 470 houses that belong to members of the Agnwak ethnic group were torched, EHRC added.

The unrest began in mid-December after eight people, including a policeman, were killed on their way to Gambella town and has displaced more than five thousand Agnwaks and others who took shelter in Mekane Yesus Church, EHRC stated.

65 bodies

The statement cited local government authorities saying that the mutilated bodies of 65 people were buried at a place called Jejebe.

The Council accused the state authorities of failing to take action to prevent the violence, despite clear indications of tension before the killings.

"As a result of the government ethnic policy, it is becoming a common occurrence to see Ethiopians who (once) lived in peace and harmony killing each other, categorizing themselves along ethnic lines," the statement said.

"The ethnic-based policy that the government is promoting is poisoning people's mentality by a negative tribal thinking," it added.

The council warned that severe poverty could fuel further ethnic violence.

Major Harnet Yohhanes, speaking for the ministry of defence, said that the army was working with the police to restore order and had nothing to do with killings.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in Nairobi on Friday that between 100 and 200 people from Gambella were crossing into Sudan every day.

"Most of them are men, which is rather unusual, because normally refugees are women and children, and these men are coming with absolutely nothing," UNHCR spokesperson Kitty McKenzie told reporters.

She added that the refugees had walked for between 10 and 17 days before reaching the border and were now "foraging in the forest or hunting to provide themselves with food."

- AFP