Ten killed in renewed Amhara violence in Ethiopia

Fighting has flared up again in some areas in Ethiopia’s restive Amhara region after a week of relative calm, with at least 10 civilian deaths reported.

Residents in the Amhara city of Debre Tabor have told the BBC that fighting between local militias and government troops began over the weekend and continued until Monday morning.

According to witnesses, the city’s main hospital sustained damage after it was hit by heavy artillery. A doctor at the hospital told the BBC that at least five people who were visiting patients and more than 20 civilians, who were moving near the facility, were wounded.

The BBC’s attempts to get responses from regional authorities and a command post established to oversee a six-month state of emergency have not been successful.

Fighting has also been reported in or around Debre Markos and Fenote Selam towns as well as other small towns and villages in the region.

Tensions in Amhara began in April, following a controversial decision to dissolve a paramilitary regional force.

Since early August, a large portion of Ethiopia’s second most populous region has seen violence.

UN human rights investigators have found that more than 180 people have died in the recent violence, the AFP news agency reports quoting a spokesperson from the UN Human Rights Office.

Last week Amhara’s regional council appointed a new president after Yilkal Kefale, who led the region for nearly two years, resigned.