Ethiopia deploys army to curb new deadly ethnic clashes

The Ethiopian army has been deployed to quell new outbreak of deadly ethnic clashes in the country’s north.

The incidents between people belonging to the Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions is said to have claimed the lives of over 200 according to local media and activists.

The deployment is to help calm down tensions at a time when officials from both regions were working together to try and deal with an upsurge of deadly violence.

The BBC cited the Amhara region spokesperson Asemahegn Asres as confirming the deployment as part of wider efforts to curb the situation.

In recent weeks, Amharas – the second most populous, behind Oromos – have been attacked in the Benishangul Gumuz and vice versa. A situation the deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen as described as regrettable.

Going on to warn people against engaging in retaliatory attacks. Inter-regional clashes have been at the heart of some of the deadliest clashes in Ethiopia under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The general security situation has been serially highlighted by political and security experts as a threat to ongoing reforms in the country. The army has always been the last resort where regional security mechanisms get overwhelmed.