‘Hundreds killed, widespread abuses in Ethiopia’

NAIROBI, March 11 (AFP): At least 750 civilians were killed or executed in Ethiopia's Amhara and Afar regions after they became caught up in the war last year, the country's rights body said Friday.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission also catalogued a litany of abuses, including torture and gang rape and enforced disappearances, saying some may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The 16-month conflict in Africa's second most populous country between government forces and Tigrayan rebels has killed thousands of people, with widespread reports of atrocities including mass killings and sexual violence. According to the UN, the fighting has also displaced more than two million people, driven hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation and left more than nine million in need of assistance.