Police Involved In The Deliberate Killing Of 600 Civilians In Ethiopia

Amhara Special Forces in Ethiopia (State Check / Intermediate)

JAKARTA - The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said the youth group in Tigray had killed at least six hundred civilians. The civilians were stabbed, strangled and beaten. The group conspired with the police and militia.

The youth group is said to have collaborated with local security forces during the massacre in Mai Kadra City. The 9 November attacks, for example, which the commission said had deliberately targeted non-Tigray civilians.

Reuters tried to verify the report but was hampered by cut off telephone and internet networks to the area. In addition, the authorities are also known to strictly control internet access.

Tigray's squad leader could not be reached for comment. However, previously they refused to take responsibility for the massacre.

According to reports, attacks were carried out against Mai Kadra residents of the Amhara and Wolkait ethnic groups. The Commission called the attack a "massacre."

The city of Mai Kadra is located southwest of Tigray in northern Ethiopia. In the region federal government forces have clashed with Tigray's forces in a three-week war. The war, which killed hundreds of people, has contributed to global concern.

In a report submitted by the commission, it states that early in the morning, during which the attack took place, local police began checking the identity cards of residents to "distinguish non-Tigray residents from elsewhere."

In the afternoon, a group of youths named "Samri" together with militia members and local police came to an area of the city. An area mostly inhabited by non-Tigray residents.

The attack began with the execution of an Amhara farmer. The farmer died in front of his family. Afterward, the killer group set fire to the house. The farmer's body was also thrown into the fire, the report said, citing interviews with the victim's wife and eye witnesses.