February 14, 2024 12:05 am | Updated 12:05 am IST - Addis AbabaEthiopia'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. 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 U.S. last week said it was deeply concerned by reports of "targeted civilian killings" in Merawi. In September, the EHRC accused federal government forces of carrying out extra-judicial killings in Amhara, and mass arbitrary detentions in the region and elsewhere.

Source: Ethiopian News February 13, 2024 18:52 UTC