Ethiopian court jails 5 for refugee massacre

ADDIS ABABA, April 2 (Reuters) – An Ethiopian court has sentenced three people to up to 14 years in prison for the ethnically-motivated murder of 28 people in western Gambella region, state media said on Saturday.

The five convicted of the July 2002 massacre of Nuer refugees from south Sudan had committed the killings “with an intent to eliminate all Nuers”, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) quoted the federal high court as saying.

“The five accused stopped a passenger vehicle on its way to Funido refugee camp, ordered 28 Nuer refugees from south Sudan out and brutally murdered them by slashing them with pangas (machetes) and shooting them,” the court said.

One of those convicted was a former policeman, ENA said.

Five others detained on suspicion of involvement in the massacre were set free for lack of evidence, the agency said.

The Nuer are southern Sudan’s second-largest ethnic group. Their presence in Gambella has caused strife for the past several years.

Nuer native to Ethiopia and members of the Anuak ethnic group have also traditionally fought over land in Gambella, west of Addis Ababa.

Violent clashes broke out in December 2003, killing an estimated 1,100 people over three months.

The government has charged six soldiers with involvement in the bloodshed.

Opposition and human rights groups have accused the military of murdering and raping hundreds of Anuaks during the violence. Addis Ababa has denied the charges, saying the military was only involved in restoring order.