Mass arrests after scores die in Ethiopian ethnic violence

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 21, 2003 (dpa) — Police in Gambella western Ethiopia arrested 50 people in connection with ethnic clashes late last week in which 30 people were said to have been killed, the official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported Sunday.

However, a report in the private media stated as many as 70 people had died as a result of clashes that occurred between December 12-14.

Fighting was reported to have erupted after eight government workers were ambushed and killed, allegedly by ethnic Agnuaks, as they were escorted by local police to inspect a site for the construction of a refugee camp to house ethnic Dinkas from Sudan.

The site at Uder was to be constructed with the assistance of the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR.