70,000 flee ethnic violence in western Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA - Weekend fighting between rival ethnic groups in western Ethiopia killed at least 44 people, state affiliated media reported Tuesday.

The clashes occurred on the border between the central Oromia and western Benishangul-Gumuz regions.

Violence began when four officials from Benishangul-Gumuz were killed by unidentified gunmen, said the Walta Media and Communication Corporate, citing the region's communications chief Zelalem Jaleta.

The clashes between youths from rival ethnic groups armed with rocks and knives forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes with security forces deployed to pacify the area.

Ethnic Oromos living in Benishangul-Gumuz were attacked by members of other groups, and many fled into Oromia, said residents, who asked not to be named.

Benishangul-Gumuz is one of Ethiopia's nine regional states, stretching to the border with Sudan.

The UN humanitarian office OCHA said some 70,000 people had been displaced in the wave of violence. In its latest update, OCHA said the fighting began last Wednesday with the death of the four high-ranking officials.

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to office in April and turned politics on its head by making peace with long-term foe Eritrea, freeing prisoners and promising a string of sweeping economic and political reforms.

He also promised to ease ethnic tensions and steer the state away from a hardline security policy in place for decades.

But commentators say his easing of restrictions may have led to flare-ups of violence over long-standing rivalries between ethnic groups.

While Ahmed has received praise from around the globe for his reformist agenda, the wave of communal violence -- mostly over land issues -- has marred the first few months of his rule.

At least 58 people were killed in September when fighting broke out in the capital, with those fleeing saying they were targeted by Oromo mobs because they are members of minority ethnic groups.

Fighting between the Oromo -- the country's largest ethnic group -- and the Gedeo minority in the south of the country meanwhile has displaced nearly one million people.

Ringing hollow

Meanwhile Ethiopia's ruling coalition begins a long-delayed congress on Wednesday that could shape the future of a country undergoing rapid change and help cement Abiy's authority.

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) meets for three days as ethnic violence continues in parts of the country where more than 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes since April.

The gathering of more than 1,000 party officials is likely to re-elect Abiy as chairman in what would be effectively a vote of confidence in his leadership.

The 42-year-old took the helm of the once Marxist-Leninist EPRDF at a moment of crisis for the coalition that has ruled Ethiopia with an iron fist since toppling a military regime and taking power in 1991.

After three years of unrest, the coalition appointed him -- the first Prime Minister from the Oromo ethnic group whose youth had risen up against the state demanding reforms -- seeking to draw a line under the past.

It has not held a congress since 2015 due to the unrest that eventually forced the resignation of Abiy's predecessor early this year.

Upon taking office Abiy, a long-time member of the EPRDF who casts himself as a reformer in touch with the people, acknowledged state wrongdoing, particularly by security forces.

He has consistently preached that message of forgiveness that he took to neighbouring Eritrea. Though his approach drew praise inside Ethiopia and abroad, Abiy's rhetoric is beginning to ring hollow in some parts of the country due to the rising violence.

Some critics say he has loosened the ERPDF's grip on the country and releasing political prisoners and lifting a ban on opposition groups led to the surge in ethnic violence as dormant rivalries were allowed to resurface.

Those critics say the fact that Abiy has managed to push through such sweeping changes in a matter of months is proof that his style runs counter to the EPRDF's core beliefs which traditionally mean lengthy group decision-making.

"EPRDF's political programme is revolutionary democracy, which at least by principle, acts like a glue that holds all the member parties together in the Front," the Reporter newspaper said.