Ethiopia: several bodies found in mass grave

Authorities in Ethiopia’s Oromia region have accused a rebel group of killing more than 160 civilians and burying 87 bodies in a mass grave, local media reported.

The federal government has often accused the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) of being behind the killings of ethnic minorities living in the area.

The killings occurred in Gidami district after government forces pushed the rebel group out of areas it had controlled, according to Ibsa Basha, a local administrator in western Oromia, the BBC reports.

The OLA, which formed an alliance last year with Tigrayan forces in its fight against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration, operates in western and southern Oromia where there have been recent clashes with government forces.

The rebel group had denied attacking civilians.