Death toll from clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara may be 200: Official

Country’s chief ombudsman says up to 200 killed in this month’s violence, up from the 50 previously reported.

The death toll in clashes this month between Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, in the northern Amhara region may be as high as 200, a senior official said on Sunday, up from previous reports of at least 50. Residents and officials in Oromia Special Zone, an area in Amhara with a majority Oromo population, and the town of Ataye said there were deadly clashes in the area on April 16. “According to information we got from people who are displaced, we estimate that up to 200 people might have died from both zones, but we still need to verify the number,” Endale Haile, Ethiopia’s chief ombudsman, told Reuters news agency.