Clashes in Ethiopia kill 20 Muslim worshippers - regional Islamic leader

Twenty Muslim worshippers were killed in Ethiopia's Amhara region in clashes with unidentified armed men, an Islamic leader in the region said.

"The incident happened yesterday when Muslims were on their way to bury an individual," Seid Muhammed, president of the Amhara Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Seid said the armed men threw an explosive device at the Muslim crowd in the town of Gondar, killing three people and wounding five. The other victims died in ensuing clashes.

"There were lootings of shops and there were attempts to set fire to three mosques. One mosque suffered minor damage where its mat was set on fire," he said.

Gizachew Muluneh, spokesperson for the Amhara regional administration, said the incident was under investigation and he would give an update later.

In 2019, authorities arrested five people suspected of burning down four mosques in the town of Motta in the same region.