Clashes between regional special forces and a minority ethnic group have killed at least 20 people in the past five days in Ethiopia’s northern state of Amhara, a local political official said on Thursday.
The latest clashes erupted last Friday when armed men killed 10 people when they ambushed a minibus traveling to the city of Gondar in northern Amhara, Desalegn Chane, president of the new National Movement of Amhara (NAMA) party, told Reuters by phone.
The next day, 12 soldiers were killed when two convoys transporting Amhara special forces were also attacked, he said.
Chane linked the violence to the Kimant Committee, a group of locally elected leaders campaigning for self-determination for the Kimant people, an ethnic sub-group in Amhara region.
Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-most populous province, has been a flashpoint for tensions following the violence that killed dozens of people, including the region’s president, in June.
The clashes are another headache for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose political and economic reforms in what was once one of Africa’s most repressive nations have also emboldened powerful strongmen building ethnic power bases.
Ethnic violence has spiked since Abiy took power in 2018. He lifted bans on political parties, and released political prisoners, but saw a resurgence of violence fuelled by local powerbrokers demanding more power and resources for their own groups.
Ethiopia’s federal constitution allows ethnic groups to demand referendums on establishing their own states, which gives them greater control over security forces and revenues.
