Gunmen Killed 34 People in Ethiopia Bus Attack

 

Gunmen killed at least 34 people in a “gruesome” attack on a passenger bus in western Ethiopia, a part of the country that has recently seen a spate of deadly assaults on civilians, the national human rights body said Sunday.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said in a statement that

“the estimated number of casualties, currently at 34, is likely to rise” from the attack which occurred Saturday night in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.

A spokesman for the commission, an independent government body, confirmed that the casualties were all deaths.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission statement said the bus attack occurred in the Debate administrative area, and that “there are reports of similar attacks” in three other areas, as well as “of persons who have fled to seek shelter”.

Twelve people were killed in an attack in the zone in October, while 15 died in a similar attack in late September.

Addressing lawmakers in October, Abiy said fighters responsible for the killings were receiving training and shelter in neighboring Sudan and that Khartoum’s assistance was needed to stabilize the area.

There is no known link between the violence in Benishangul-Gumuz and military operations in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which have killed hundreds and sent more than 20,000 people fleeing over the border into Sudan.