Gunmen kill over 140 Ethiopians

A 2012 picture shows thatched huts in the town of Kir in Gambella, Ethiopia. South Sudan military uniform, crossed into Ethiopia and simultaneously attacked 10 different villages killing over 140 Ethiopians of the Nuer ethnic group. Picture: AFP/ Jenny Vaughan

A 2012 picture shows thatched huts in the town of Kir in Gambella, Ethiopia. South Sudan military uniform, crossed into Ethiopia and simultaneously attacked 10 different villages killing over 140 Ethiopians of the Nuer ethnic group. Picture: AFP/ Jenny Vaughan

Published Apr 17, 2016

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Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian government says it will do whatever is necessary to counter the co-ordinated attacks by combined military and armed Mulre civilians from South Sudan’s Buma State (Jongle State) raiding Ethiopia’s Gambella region.

This came after news broke of a deadly attack on Friday April 15 when thousands of armed men, most of them reportedly in South Sudan military uniform, crossed into Ethiopia and simultaneously attacked 10 different villages killing over 140 Ethiopians of the Nuer ethnic group.

“We have confirmed that more than 142 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in addition to the 39 children who were abducted by the bandits,” Ethiopian Communications Minister Getachew Reda told ANA.

“The Ethiopian defence forces have been taking measures against these armed groups involved in the attacks.

“So far we have also confirmed that the Ethiopian forces have killed over 60 of the armed gangs. Of course the Ethiopian forces are going to keep taking measures against these armed attackers.”

It was not the first time the Mulre had carried out such attacks across the Ethiopian border.

They have previously been accused of carrying out cattle raids and stealing children to raise as their own.

Though the province has a history of conflict between communities and a sizable Nuer population, this attack was the first of its kind due to the huge number of forces involved and the high death toll.

Reda said South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar was of the Nuer ethnic group, despite what most people thought, and “so far this has no links to the South Sudanese government or rebels”.

The Ethiopian government hosts thousands of South Sudanese refugees who fled after renewed conflict broke out in their country in December 2013.

– African News Agency

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