Amid violent anti-government demonstrations brought on by the federal government’s decision to dismantle regional special forces units, two Catholic Relief Services (CRS) employees were shot and killed on Sunday in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the charity claimed.
The event took place in the town of Kobo, where locals reported hearing a lot of artillery fire on Sunday, according to CRS Director of Communications Kim Pozniak, who did not specify whether the gunshots were connected to the uprising.
Amare Kindeya, a driver, and Chuol Tongyik, a security manager for CRS, were the victims. According to the statement, they were travelling from Amhara to the capital Addis Ababa.
“The depth of our shock and sorrow is difficult to measure and we are saddened over this senseless violence,” Zemede Zewdie, CRS’s country representative in Ethiopia said in the statement.
“Details of the murder are still unknown,” CRS said in a statement.
Since the federal government’s decision was issued on Thursday, thousands have demonstrated around Amhara, and on Sunday, locals in at least two towns reported hearing gunfire.
Residents of the town of Dessie reported significant protests on Monday, during which young people blocked highways and set tires on fire.
Politicians and activists from Amhara have denounced the government directive that calls for special troops from each of Ethiopia’s 11 regions, which enjoy some autonomy, to join the federal army or police.
They assert that disbanding Amhara’s special forces would expose the area to attacks from surrounding regions, such as Tigray, whose leaders signed a peace with the federal government in November to halt a two-year conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
