Anuak rebels suspected of killing 14 in bus attack in Ethiopia’s Gambella

June, 13, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — At least 14 people were killed and 40 others wounded when a group of unidentified armed raiders ambushed a bus in western Ethiopia, humanitarian sources said.

The first assailants shot and killed the driver on Sunday afternoon, about 9km outside the western town of Bonga, causing the bus to crash. An armed gang of about 15 then opened fire on the passengers, killing 13 other people.

“Around 40 wounded people have been admitted in Bonga. We don’t know if they were wounded in the attack or in the accident,” said an aid worker in the town of Gambella, in western Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border. “The road to Bonga has been closed this morning [Monday 12 June]; it is therefore difficult to get more precise information.” Police had beefed up security in Gambella because of the incident.

The federal police in Addis Ababa confirmed the incident but did not provide further information. “There was an attack on a bus committed by gangsters on the way to Gambella. Some people have been killed – we are trying to get in touch with the police in Gambella to get more details,” said a federal police representative.

Local aid officials suspected that rebels of the Anuak ethnic group were responsible for the attack. There is longstanding animosity between the Anuak and the Nuer community over access to pasture, water and arable land in the Gambella region.

“The Anuak rebels are suspected to have perpetrated the attack on the bus, but this has not been confirmed,” said the aid official in Gambella. In December 2003, at least 30 people were killed in clashes between the two communities in Gambella.

(IRIN)