Ethiopia agrees to investigate human rights violations in Oromia and Amhara

Ethiopia has agreed to launch an independent investigation into allegations of "serious" human rights violations taking place in two regions of the country, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has confirmed.

The unrest in the Oromia and Amhara regions started in November 2015.

However, according to media reports, scores of people were shot dead in August during a crackdown against anti-government protests.

A probe would establish whether the use of excessive force occurred, with the aim of bringing to justice the perpetrators of any violations.

The situation is very tense in parts of the Oromia and Amhara regions where a large security presence has reportedly been deployed, OHCHR said.

There are also reports of ongoing arbitrary arrests, intimidation and harassment of people.

The Government of Ethiopia is being urged to ensure that the investigation is indeed "independent, transparent, thorough and effective".

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, has reached out to the authorities asking them to grant access to independent observers in the affected areas.

Their role would be to assess the situation in the two regions following "extremely alarming" reports of human rights violations that emerged earlier in August.

SOURCE: Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.