BREAKING NEWS

Ethiopian security forces accused of 39 extrajudicial killings

Ethiopian security forces in the Oromiya region have executed 39 opposition supporters and arrested at least 10,000 others accused of being members of an armed group since early 2019, Amnesty International said on Friday.

The rights group said in a report that victims were accused of supporting the Oromo Liberation Army, the breakaway armed wing of the Oromo Liberation Front, which the government had declared a terrorist movement before it was unbanned by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

"Security forces have continued to violate human rights despite reforms introduced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and this is due to widespread impunity and lack of accountability for those violations," Amnesty International's Ethiopia researcher Fisseha Tekle said.

In a statement, the government said it "strongly rejects malicious claims of extra judicial killings, evictions and destruction of property" but would launch an independent investigation if there was evidence of any wrongdoing.

The Ethiopian army and regional police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.