More than 101,000 people have been displaced due to violence in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz regional state since July 2020, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Wednesday. Due to “the deteriorating security situation in the zone, humanitarian access and lifesaving assistance to the 28,000 returnees and 101,000 new internally displaced persons (IDPs) are challenging,” it said. It also noted that the regional government has been providing limited lifesaving assistance since July 2020 using armed escorts. In recent years, deadly inter-communal violence has taken place in the Metekel zone, eventually killing hundreds of civilians. In late December, the zone witnessed similar deadly attacks, which claimed the lives of at least 207 civilians, Ethiopia’s federal rights group confirmed.

Source: Ethiopian News January 07, 2021 08:37 UTC