At least 97,000 people have fled their homes and sheltered in two camps after gunmen massacred more than 200 residents last week in western Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region, Daily Sabah reports. Following the attacks, the Metekel zone has come under the direct command of the military until it returns to normal. Last week, gunmen carried out ethnic-based attacks in the Metekel zone, killing more than 207 civilians while they slept. In recent months, the western region, which borders Sudan, where Ethiopia's $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile is located, has seen several ethnically motivated massacres of Amharas, Oromos and Shinashas. "The massacre of civilians in Benishangul-Gumuz region is very tragic," he added, according to Reuters.

Source: Ethiopian News December 29, 2020 21:33 UTC