Mass arrests after anti-Muslim attack in Ethiopia

A regional official claimed on Friday that several hundred people had been arrested following a deadly attack on Muslims in the northern Ethiopian city of Gondar.

According to a local Islamic organization, more than 20 people were killed on Tuesday when heavily armed “extreme Christians” attacked mourners at a Muslim elder’s funeral and destroyed Muslim citizens’ property.

Desalegn Tassew, head of the Amhara region’s peace and security bureau, said 373 suspects had been arrested “in relation to the disturbance that happened in Gondar”, according to a statement cited by the official Amhara Media Corporation.

He also announced a ban on firearms and other weapons until all suspects were arrested.

“We are making legally accountable members of the security forces and leaders who did not assume their responsibility,” he added, without elaborating.

The cemetery where the attack occurred neighbors a mosque and church and has been the subject of an ongoing dispute between Muslims and Orthodox Christians, who are the dominant group in Ethiopia.

Amhara’s regional government said the violence erupted as people clashed over using stones from the area for burial purposes, fighting over whether the materials were being taken from the cemetery or church compound.

Muslims gathered for a mass iftar, the traditional sunset meal that breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan, in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on Friday to protest the violence in Gondar.

“Justice for Amhara victims in Gondar,” they chanted. “We need fair justice.”