At least 20 people were killed today Gods, a town in Ethiopia's Amhara region, after a fight allegedly sparked by a group of "Christian extremists" during the funeral of a local Muslim official.
The mayor of Godar, Zeudu Malente, when asked by public radio and television EBC, confirmed that "some extremists", without specifying which community they belonged to, caused an "incident" that resulted in "property damage and loss of life from both sides ".
Goddard police declined to comment.
The Amhara Muslim Affairs Council said in a statement that "a massacre was carried out on April 26 against Muslims gathered at the Sheikh Elias graveyard in Godar by armed Christian extremists".
The perpetrators opened fire with automatic weapons and fired grenades, the Council said, adding that "based on the information it had, 20 people were killed."
The wounded, whose number is unknown, have been sent to hospitals, while the properties of Muslims have been looted.
The cause of the unrest may have been a dispute between Amhara Orthodox Christians and local Muslims over the cemetery where the burial would take place.
"Despite continuous efforts (by Christians) to take possession of the Sheikh Elias cemetery, the cemetery has always been Muslim," the council said in a statement.
The site where the Muslim official was buried is on the border between a mosque and an Orthodox church, which angered some Christians, a member of the local security forces told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Information source @BalkanWeb: Read more at: www.botasot.al
