(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Ethiopian soldiers killed nine civilians and injured 12 after mistaking them for rebels near a town along the country's border with Kenya, state media said on Sunday. The soldiers were deployed to the Moyale area of the country's Oromiya region in pursuit of Oromo Liberation Front fighters who had crossed into Ethiopia from three locations, the Ethiopian News Agency said. "Nine civilians were killed and 12 others were injured during an operation that was launched with faulty intelligence," members of the the armed forces told the agency. The Oromo Liberation Front is a secessionist group which the government has branded as terrorist. Last month, Addis Ababa imposed a six-month, nationwide state of emergency to tamp down unrest in Africa's second most populous nation.

Source: Ethiopian News March 11, 2018 15:56 UTC