Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jun 19, 2022

Ethiopia

Yet more atrocities in Ethiopia. Witnesses today told the Associated Press news agency that more than 200 people were killed in an ethnically-motivated attack in the country’s Oromia region. The witnesses said the victims were ethnic Amhara and that they were killed by an Oromo rebel group. The group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), denied any involvement. Separately, the state-run Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it believed a horrific video circulating on social media showed government forces executing at least 30 unarmed men who the government troops alleged were OLA members. A large group of armed men are seen in the footage beating a smaller group of men from the back of a truck and shooting them as they get off. They then fire at the bodies on the ground. Ethiopia has been rocked by civil war since November 2020 and the conflict has unleashed simmering ethnic tensions.

More from AP here. And from Reuters here.

Afghanistan

The ISIS affiliate group in Afghanistan today claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in the capital Kabul in which one person was killed. Taliban fighters attempting to protect the temple engaged the attackers in a firefight, local officials said. The ISIS affiliate, known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K, said the battle raged for three hours. IS-K has emerged as the biggest security threat facing the Taliban since it took power last year, carrying out a slew of brutal attacks since.

Israel-Palestine

It has now been 40 days since Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli soldier, and her family, the media network and the Palestinian authority say they are still fighting for accountability. Al Jazeera has released an image of the bullet it says killed the iconic journalist. Arms experts identified it as a US-made 5.56mm round fired from an M4 rifle, commonly used by Israeli forces. Hundreds of people today attended a memorial in the West Bank for Abu Akleh to commemorate the 40 days since her killing, where they signed a petition wall calling for justice.