Around midnight, heavily-armed fighters arrived in his village, in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region, sending Girmay fleeing into the forest to hide for two days. Abiy's government has unveiled plans to form a militia of civilians displaced by past attacks to return to Metekel to "protect" those remaining. At a displacement camp in the town of Chagni, east of Metekel, Girmay is one of many residents who back this move. Amhara officials seize on this line to argue that Amhara security forces should be deployed en masse alongside the military to restore order. Ethnic Gumuz civilians are also on the run, with 34,000 hiding in forests in fear of violence, state media quoted a local security official as saying last week.

Source: Ethiopian News February 12, 2021 04:05 UTC