US envoy says more than 100 people kidnapped for ransom in Ethiopia

At least 100 people, including students, were kidnapped for ransom last week in Ethiopia’s restive regions that have seen sporadic fighting since the end of the civil war in Tigray, the U.S. ambassador to Addis Ababa said on Monday.

“Recent and frequent kidnappings in Oromia and Amhara regions show how prolonged conflict emboldens criminals and weakens (the) rule of law,” U.S. Ambassador Ervin Massinga wrote on social media platform X.

“Last week, over 100 students and passengers were abducted for ransom,” he added.

On Wednesday, three buses were stopped by unknown gunmen around 120 km (75 miles) north of the capital Addis Ababa, in the Oromia region, said a student of Debark University, who later escaped and hid in a forest.

“The kidnappers are now asking families to pay up to 1 million birr ($17,500) to release the captives,” he said.