At least seven people have been killed and twenty others wounded during protests Sunday in the town of Alamata, in southern Tigray region, after the Tigray region special forces fired on the demonstrators, according to hospital sources and witnesses.

Thousands of demonstrators were marching through the main square of the town on Sunday, voicing their opposition of their inclusion in the Tigray region when the special forces opened fire, residents told Ethiopia Observer. Gunfire lasted for several hours and was heard all over the town, residents said. Hospital sources that seven people died and more than twenty people critically wounded. Several people with gunshot wounds were receiving treatment at the hospital and  some of them were referred to Woldia hospital, the source said.

Dejene Assefa, an Independent Consultant based in Addis Ababa and who is originally from the area has been updating on the events on Facebook, publishing some disturbing images of wounded people. Among those killed were two high school students, Mola Abraha and Wajiye, he said. Around fifty young people and two respected community figures, Shambel Zegeye and Tadesse Haile were detained, according to the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT).

The Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau released a statement late evening saying only three people died in the event. The statement said the impetuous to use identity question for other political gains is not acceptable in anyway. “In addition to that provoking security forces that are there to protect the peace, safety and security of the region into unnecessarily action is something that should not be repeated again,” it reads.

Residents of the town have told Ethiopia Observer they are staying indoors amid the sound of gunfire from the streets. Reports coming of the town late at night indicate several trucks carrying Tigray region special forces have arrived from Mekele.

Alamata, with 70,000 residents, is town in Tigray that borders Amhara. The residents are Raya people, who see themselves as a united people with thier own proper identity and shared history. However, the Raya territory has been placed under the jurisdiction of two different regional states, when Ethiopia was divided into a federation along ethno-linguistic lines in 1992. While the northern segment commonly known as Raya-Azebo currently forms the southernmost territory of the Tigray regional state, the other half, also commonly known as Raya-Kobbo, is today part of the Amhara regional state. The Raya were generally pastoralists, gradually adapting to settled forms of existence.

Main Image: Raya women during Timkat celebration in Alamata

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