The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said several people have been shot by government security personnel for allegedly concealing weapons in some parts of the Amhara region.

In a statement issued on September 15, 2023, the EHRC said that the extrajudicial killings committed by state security forces in connection with the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region are ” a matter of great concern”.

EHRC said it had been told by witnesses, residents, and victims’ families that the killings were carried out in multiple towns of the region, such as Adete, Debre Markos, Debre Tabor, Jiga, Lemi, Majete, Merawi, Merto Lemariam, and Shewa Robit from June 30 -September 15.

Among the victims were some who were arrested during house-to-house searches, individuals caught on the streets during clashes, and unarmed people who were arrested for allegedly concealing weapons, EHRC said.

It said there had been widespread arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and other human rights violations “not only in Amhara but the neighbouring region of Oromia and the capital Addis Ababa in connection with the conflict in the Amhara region.

EHRC also said that several members of the Fano militias who were in detention were shot dead.

In several villages and hamlets of the region, there has been a significant number of loss of civilian lives, injuries, and property damage due to gunfire and heavy artillery, it added. Among those killed were people walking on the street, working on farmlands, and even staying within their own homes, according to the statement.

The intensity of the fighting between Fano forces and federal troops, following the government’s orders to re-integrate the militia into the formal security structure, has reportedly been subdued in the past few weeks. However, increasing reports are coming out that the conflict is spreading to smaller towns and rural villages in the region. In a briefing on September 1, Ethiopian Defense Force Field Marshall Berhanu Jula said “extremist forces operating in the Amhara and Oromia regions” no longer pose a significant threat.

EHRC has said that arbitrary detentions have been widespread during this period, particularly in connection with the state of emergency. Additionally, an unknown number of civilians are being detained in prisons not officially mentioned by the Command Post overseeing the state of emergency, it added.

Some of the specific locations cited by the right group in relation to arbitrary detentions are Bahir Dar, Debre Tabor, Debre Markos, Fnotsalam, Gondar, Lalibela, Mekanesalaam, Kobo and Shewa Robit, Sheger as well as Addis Ababa.

Some detainees from the Southern Region Training College, commonly known as Abosto, have reportedly been released but an unknown number of people still remain in custody. A temporary detention center has been reportedly set up in the Gelan sub-city of the Sheger City, Oromia region, where many homeless children and women from different regions are being held. The temporary detention center in Sida Awash is reportedly used to house individuals who have been taken off the streets both before and after the declaration of a state of emergency. Of those recently taken to the center, 29 individuals were identified, had their identity cards verified, and subsequently released. Some of them have been assisted in returning to their homes through a rehabilitation program, according to EHRC. The right group has examined the situation and reported that the outbreak of the infectious disease in the facility is under control. There is no word about the exact number of individuals in the detention center or how many people remain there.