Four regime soldiers killed in western Ethiopia

ESAT News (February 3, 2016)

Four regime soldiers have reportedly been killed while several other injured in Benishangul Gumuz region, western Ethiopia. A source who spoke to ESAT say the soldiers were ambushed in Sherkole, a gold mining area, by armed groups who call themselves freedom fighters.

The source said two of the soldiers were identified as Lieutenant Werawi Abreha and a soldier who goes by his first name Halefom.

There have been reports of attacks and counterattacks between regime soldiers and armed groups in the gold mining region of Benishangul Gumuz where Tigrayan army officers had uprooted traditional gold miners and took over the lucrative business. According to the sources there were several deadly clashes between the locals and the army officers in the process of the takeover of the gold mines.

The source also said the army officers operate under the banner of MIDROC, a company owned by an Ethiopian born Saudi tycoon with close ties to the regime.