Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of Amhara regional state amid violence in various towns.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Defense said the last three days saw deadly armed violence in the town of Ataye and several other areas in Oromia special zones.
The statement said an unspecified number of people were killed in attacks by gunmen and property was destroyed. It added that many civilians fled the armed conflict.
The Amhara region is dominated by the ethnic Amhara group – Ethiopia’s second-largest – but the Oromo special zone is populated mainly by Oromos, the numerically dominant group.
The declaration of emergency came a day after Ethiopia’s military deployed troops to the North Shoa zone and Oromo special zone.
The move underscores persistent insecurity extending beyond Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region ahead of national elections planned for June.