ADDIS ABABA (Somaliguardian) – The death toll from an attack in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia on Wednesday has risen to 222 people, hours after Ethiopia’s military killed 42 men who had taken part in the massacre.
The attack occurred in the village of Bekoji in Bulen County in the Metekel zone, and the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission initially estimated more than 100 people had been killed, but Reuters has reports the casualties have risen, quoting a Red Cross volunteer as confirming that at least 222 people have been.
“Yesterday we buried 207 people who were the victims and 15 more from the attackers,” said the volunteer, Melese Mesfin.
Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in Bulen County due to the violence stirred by ethnic divisions sowed by the conflict in the country’s Tigray region. The County buried 207 people on Friday.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called the attack in Benishangul-Gumuz region a “massacre” and announced that federal troops had been deployed.
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