The Ethiopian Government has dismissed more than 40 regional, zonal, and district-level officials for their alleged roles in the killings of at least 180 people.
The killings took place in the west of the country, according to reports on Wednesday, 30 September 2020.
Ten of those fired are being investigated for allegedly participating in the killings by armed men over the past two months in the Benishangul Gumuz region. They will be facing charges, according to information from the region’s Prosperity Party. Several others are being closely watched, with the prospect for more sackings, the party said in a statement on Monday, 28 September 2020.
Nega Jara, the region’s Deputy Police Commissioner, Wegari Palino Commander of the region’s special force, and Shambel Lencha, Speaker of the Ethnic Gumuzs Council, were among those sacked by the government.
The dismissal followed the launching of a special operation, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a bid to trace the root causes of the recurrent attacks and alleged collaborators of the targeted attacks in the region’s Metekel zone.
Heads of the Metekel zone’s health, trade and industry, finance, justice, agriculture and tourism were among the dismissed officials for alleged participation in the recurring massacre. The massacre left more than 180 ethnic Amhara, Agew and Shinasha people dead.
The chief and deputy chief administrators of the Dangur district and speaker, security head, revenue, youth and sports bureau heads, were among the dismissed officials.
Meanwhile, the Benishangul Gumuz region’s Police Commissioner, Abdulaziz Mohammed has confirmed that 22 people were killed in the latest unrest in the Dangur district of the region. The police commissioner also confirmed that a total of more than 40 people were killed. The police commissioner accused Egypt of instigating the unrest in the region by offering military training and arming the gunmen, in a bid to destabilize Ethiopia.
There is a protracted dispute between the two countries over Ethiopia’s massive hydro power dam project on the River Nile.
-APA
