UN says at least 183 people have been killed in Ethiopia over Amhara region unrest since July

United Nations human rights office says at least 183 people have been killed in clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara region since July as Amhara fighters resist efforts by federal government to disband m.

U.N. office on Tuesday also said human rights situation in Ethiopia is deteriorating, with more than 1,000 people reportedly arrested under a state of emergency declared early this month over unrest.

“Many of those detained were reported to be young people of Amhara ethnic origin suspected of being Fa supporters,” U.N. office said, referring to name of Amhara militia. “Since early August, mass house-to-house searches have reportedly been taking place, and at least three Ethiopian journalists covering situation in Amhara region have been detained.”

U.N. statement said detainees have reportedly been held in improvised detention centres without basic amenities. It called for those arbitrarily detained to be released and for authorities to stop “mass arrests.”

human rights office called for an end to fighting as military retakes towns that h been seized by Amhara fighters and militia members flee into rural areas.

In one of deliest incidents, a health official earlier this month told Associated Press that an airstrike on a crowded town square in Fite Selam community killed at least 26 people. federal government didn’t comment.

Amhara fighters h fought alongside military in  two-year conflict in Ethiopia’s rrn Tigray region that ended in vember with a peace agreement. conflict spilled into Amhara region when Tigray forces at one point tried to approach capital, dis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has struggled for years to contain various conflicts often along ethnic lines. country, Africa’s second most populous, has long been seen as an important security partner in Horn of Africa, but government has criticized or limited outside efforts — including by U.N. investigators — to understand toll of abuses in conflicts.