Tigray special forces killed several civilians in the northwestern town of Maikadra before the federal forces secured the town, two Amhara region political parties said on Wednesday.

Maikadra, located near Humera town, along the borders with Sudan and Ethiopia, has been seized by the Ethiopian military on Tuesday, amid a nearly week-old conflict in the northern Tigray region.

The Amhara party in the ruling coalition, Prosperity Party, and the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA) party issued statements saying that TPLF forces killed a large number of members of the Amhara ethnic group before they were beaten by the country’s defense forces and forced to flee.

“While we expect the details of casualties to be revealed by the federal government, we could confirm that Amhara people living in the town of Maikadra, which is now captured by the defense forces, have been subjected to genocide by the TPLF,” the Amhara region’s Prosperity Party said.

“The number of people killed in the atrocity would be verified and disclosed and we believe the killings are a matter for the International Criminal Court,” the statement added.

NAMA also issued a statement saying that “Before leaving the town of Maikadra, the TPLF has committed unspeakable cruelty by targetting Amhara only.” NAMA said even children and women were brutally killed in the attack.