More than 100 people, mostly students, are being held for ransom by kidnappers in Ethiopia, the latest in an epidemic of abductions in the troubled country. It is now "very rare" to find a family "who has not been affected by kidnapping,” one local told The Guardian in January. Last year, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council said victims of the kidnapping epidemic "often endure torture, cruel treatment, and detainment under inhumane conditions, constituting severe crimes against human dignity". In Ethiopia's "broken economy" collecting ransoms is seen as "easy money" and "anyone can be a target". The British embassy advises UK nationals to "avoid regular patterns of travel or movement" in large parts of Oromia because of the risk of kidnapping.

Source: Ethiopian News July 17, 2024 02:23 UTC