ETHIOPIA’S military has been accused of killing civilians in an operation to restore control of the Amhara region.

Soldiers cleared roadblocks today after announcing the recapture of six towns on Wednesday night, following days of fighting with the Fano militia. The militia fought alongside the government during the two-year war in neighbouring Tigray that ended last November, but it resisted disarmament afterwards, prompting a new conflict.

Locals told reporters that civilians had been killed during the fighting, with soldiers accused of burying 20 civilians they had killed on Monday in Bahir Dar. One person, who asked not to be named, said that “unarmed youth” had come out with sticks and stones when the army arrived in the town “and the military was shooting them.” An aid worker added that the fighting had been “very bad, with many civilians killed.”