Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted On Thursday he sent forces to the western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, where gunmen killed more than 100 people a day earlier.
Why it’s important: Wednesday’s attack on the village of Bekoji is the latest massacre in Ethiopia, as ethnic tensions rise over land and other resources. Violence has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
What they say: “The massacre of civilians in the Benishangul-Gumuz region is very tragic,” Abiy said in a Twitter post, translated by Reuters. “The government, in order to solve the root causes of the problem, has deployed the necessary force.”
The big picture: Ethiopia has faced constant outbreaks of deadly violence since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was appointed in 2018.
- In the northern Tigray region, the Ethiopian military has been fighting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a renegade political faction.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with Abyy’s ad details.