Amnesty International says at least 54 people from the Amhara ethnic group have been killed in an attack by suspected members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) armed group.

Witnesses say dozens of men, women and children were killed and property looted on 01 November, according to the rights organisation.

Amnesty, in a statement, said it spoke to some of the survivors of the attack who escaped death by hiding in a nearby forest.

‘This senseless attack is the latest in a series of killings in the country in which members of ethnic minorities have been deliberately targeted’, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Deprose Muchena, said.

‘The fact that this horrendous incident occurred shortly after government troops abruptly withdrew from the area in unexplained circumstances raises questions that must be answered.

‘The Ethiopian authorities must investigate what happened and prosecute those responsible for the attack through fair trials’.

The survivors, according to the statement, said they had counted 54 bodies in a school compound where the militants gathered people who did not manage to flee and killed them.

Source: Amnesty International

Photo source: Richard Potts