Rebels accused of shelling civilians in Ethiopia

Fighters from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region indiscriminately shelled several villagers in the neighbouring Amhara region earlier this month, eyewitnesses have told the BBC.

Dozens of people are feared to have been killed or wounded during the two-day assault on the villages near the town of Kobo.

The Tigayan fighters launched the attack on 9 and 10 September after farmers resisted their advance into Amhara, the eyewitnesses added.

The fighters also opened fire, and carried out house-to-house searches, they said.

Many people fled the villages following the attacks.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front has not yet responded to allegations that its fighters were behind the violence.

The state-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has said it is alarmed by "disturbing reports" that it has received about attacks on civilians in the area.

Obtaining information from conflict-hit areas is difficult as phone lines and the internet have been cut by the government, but the BBC managed to speak to people who fled and are now in safer areas.

Source: BBC