Israelis Await Rescue in Violence-Torn Gondar

A group of emissaries from the Jewish Agency in Gondar, Ethiopia, were awaiting rescue from the fighting that broke out in the city on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel’s embassy in Addis Ababa, and the Jewish Agency, are trying to arrange for a flight out of the country for a delegation of 23 Jewish Agency personnel. They were said to be taking shelter in “a secure and guarded building,” but in such a volatile situation it was decided to extract them as soon as possible. In addition, an undetermined number of Israeli tourists are thought to be in the region.

Ten people were reportedly killed in the ethnic violence on Tuesday. Ethnic fighting recently broke out between the Amhara and Tigray groups when armed forces from the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) entered Gondar, a city with a majority Amhara population, early Tuesday morning.

Some 6,000 Falash Mura live in Gondar, and an undetermined number of Israeli tourists are believed to be in the region, as well.

Ethnic fighting recently broke out between the Amhara and Tigray groups when armed forces from the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) entered Gondar, a city with a majority Amhara population, early Tuesday morning.
It was the second case this week of Israelis in danger abroad, after reports of 15 Israeli humanitarian aid workers and business people were caught up in the fighting in South Sudan on Tuesday.