Fourteen civilians were killed in an attack Monday in Guba woreda of Benishangul-Gumuz region, Amhara regional state’s director of communications said Wednesday.

Organized groups armed with guns killed the civilians based on their ethnicity in the Gabu district of Benishangul-Gumuz region on Monday night, July 27, Gizachew Muluneh, Amhara regional state’s director of communications said. “All of the victims are from Amhara ethnic group who hailed from Sekela area,” he said.

The gunmen have not been identified but this was a planned attack carried out by the organised group, Gizachew told BBC Amharic. Some members of the armed group have clashed with the defense forces but have escaped into the forest, he added.

“Search is ongoing to find the culprits of attack, but it is becoming difficult because of the density of forest in the area,” the director of communications was quoted as saying. He said another six people were injured.

Image: The Blue Nile Assosa in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, some 800 kilometers from Addis Ababa (AP Photo)