Gambella (Aegis) – A curfew has been imposed on Gambella town, Gambella, Western Ethiopia at 7pm local time June 11 evening following the ambush of a bus at 6pm in which around 30 people are believed to have been killed.

Gambella residents were watching World Soccer Cup matches when they were ordered home for the curfew, which has been accompanied by a water and power cut. Ethiopian troops and highlander militia are reported to be out on the streets in force. Gunfire was heard in Anuak areas of the town between 8pm and 8.30pm local time, and tensions are running high.

While it remains unclear who was responsible for the ambush and who was on the bus, the attack is thought to be linked to strife between the Anuak and other minorities in Gambella, in particular the highlanders and the Nuer, which has been accentuated since 2003.

In December 2003, several hundred Anuak were massacred in Gambella town by highlander militia. A number of Ethiopian Government soldiers were also reported to have been involved in the killings. The massacre came months after oil giant Petronas obtained a concession from the Ethiopian Government to conduct exploration activity in the Gambella basin – traditional Anuak territory. In the wake of the massacre, 30,000 Anuak fled to Pochalla, in south-east Sudan, and a small Anuak rebel movement started to operate in Gambella, harassing the authorities with increasing effectiveness.

Between 11-12 April 2006, following operations to disarm Anuak along the Sudan-Ethiopia border in which civilians were killed and houses were burned down, a substantial number of Ethiopian troops crossed into Sudan and advanced on Pochalla. As women and children fled the refugee camp in expectation of a massacre, Aegis’ reports sparked intense media and diplomatic interest in the situation. The troops halted outside Pochalla and then withdrew to Ethiopia without entering the town.

14 killed in ambush: BBC

At least 14 people have been killed in western Ethiopia when a passenger bus was ambushed by armed attackers. Police confirmed the bus was on its way from the capital Addis Ababa to Gambella some 700km to the west when it was ambushed near the village of Bonga.

Aid workers said the attack was about 1600 local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday. Sources say about 15 attackers shot and killed the driver, causing the bus to crash before the gang climbed aboard and started shooting passengers.

The attackers wore military attire, sources say. Forty people were wounded in addition to those killed.

Unconfirmed reports blame the attack on rebels of the Anuak community who have been at loggerheads with the Nuer over access to pasture, water and fertile land in the Gambella region.

Calm after clashes

Meanwhile in the southern Ethiopian area of Borena, calm has been restored after 10 days of inter-clan clashes which left between 100 and 150 people dead and thousands of others displaced.

Aid workers say the dispute over land between the Borena and Gudgi clans started on 22 May and spiralled into violence a week later. Clan leaders have now managed to restore peace and will hold meetings with the government in two days time to try and resolve the issue.

The Borena area has been suffering from drought over the past few months. Aid agency Oxfam says the pastoralists have been moving around the region looking for water and grazing land.

A spokesman for the NGO said this had exacerbated tensions between the different clans.

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Amber Henshaw, BBC News
June 12, 2006