Ethiopia’s government security forces killed at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara state in late January, the independent state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said Tuesday. A statement said the EHRC had confirmed “the identity of at least 45 civilians who were extrajudicially killed by government security forces” in the town of Merawi for allegedly supporting an ethnic Amhara militia known as Fano. The killings in Merawi followed months of clashes last year between Ethiopia’s military and Fano and prompted the United States last week to call for an investigation. According to the EHRC, security forces also rounded up and arrested an unknown number of people in Merawi on suspicion of being members of Fano. But the United States last week said it was deeply concerned by reports of “targeted civilian killings” in Merawi.
