Three killed in Ethiopia shootout as regional rebellions spill into capital

Nairobi, Kenya:A shootout between militiamen and police officers killed three people Friday in the Ethiopian capital in a rare case of the country s m...

Nairobi, Kenya: A shootout between militiamen and police officers killed three people Friday in the Ethiopian capital in a rare case of the country's many regional rebellions spilling into the city.

The violence occurred near Millenium Hall in Addis Ababa’s downtown as officers tried to apprehend three fighters from a militia known as Fano. The fighters were "on a mission to carry out a terrorist attack,” a police statement said.

Two of the militia members were killed, and police arrested the third. A bystander also was killed during the gunbattle, and two police officers were injured. "The extremists were asked to surrender but refused to do so,” the police statement said.

Ethiopia’s security services have been battling a full-blown rebellion by the Fano, an ethno-nationalist group, since August. It was sparked by a disputed plan to integrate regional forces into the federal military and has rendered lawless much of Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-biggest region.

One of the Fano rebellion’s bloodiest episodes occurred on Jan 29, when soldiers went door-to-door killing dozens of civilians in the Amhara town of Merawi after clashes with local Fano members, according to rights groups.