Thousands of ethnic Amharas in western Ethiopia are being expelled en masse from the country's Benishangul Gumuz region, where many have settled, in what some are condemning as a campaign of “ethnic cleansing“.
Ethiopia has been divided into nine ethnically based and politically autonomous regional states and two chartered cities since 1996. The Amhara people, reportedly including children, pregnant women, and the sickly, are being uprooted to a rural area of Ethiopia's Amhara region, which contains their historical homeland.
Human rights advocates say the deportation is illegal according to Ethiopian and international law. Ethiopian authorities have maintained that these claims are unsubstantiated, saying that they have been moving and resettling indigenous and local farmers in the name of villagization programs.
This isn't the first time Ethiopian officials have forced Amhara people to move to another region. A reported 22,000 Amharas were evicted from southern Ethiopia and their homes confiscated in 2012.
A report by Ethiopian Satellite Television in March 2013 and made available on quotes opposition party leaders condemning the eviction.
Many Ethiopians are opposed to the government policy of the rural population's mass eviction. An online petition, demanding the government stop the resettlement campaign, had 1,919 signatures at the time of this post's publication on April 11, 2013.
Displaced Amharas waiting for food and shelter. Photo courtesy of Ethiopian Satellite Television.
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