Ethiopia’s government announced on Saturday it would take action against the perpetrators after a video of armed men, wearing military uniforms, burning civilians to death on social media surfaced.
In a Facebook statement, the Ethiopian Communications Service reported that the incident occurred at the Ayisid Kebele in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region, a hotbed for past ethnic violence in which hundreds of civilians have been killed in recent months.
According to a statement, innocent civilians were burned to death in a series of horrific images posted on social media.
It did not specify when or who was responsible for the events.
“Regardless of their origin or identity, the government will take legal action against those responsible for this gross and inhumane act,” the government said.
In the video, some of the men in the crowd are dressed in Ethiopian military uniforms as well as uniforms from other regional security forces.
It should be noted that the violence in Benishangul-Gumuz, which is home to several ethnic groups, is independent of the conflict in northern Tigray which broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal forces and rebellious forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).