ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Violence between rival Islamic groups at a mosque in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state left 33 people injured, an Ethiopian official said on Friday.
Yalelet Zegeye, chief police inspector at Kombolcha city police department, Amhara regional state, said the violence occurred on Thursday afternoon when dispute between two rival groups about ownership of a mosque and its finances turned violent.
Zegeye said 11 people sustained heavy injuries and 22 others light injuries. while police has arrested 10 people for suspected involvement in the violence.
He further said police is conducting discussions with the local Muslim community to prevent the recurrence of the violence in the city.
A witness told Xinhua the mosque violence involved members of an Al-Ahbash Islamic sect and members of a mainstream Islamic sect.
Muslims make up about 33 percent of Ethiopia's population of around 100 million and are generally well integrated into the wider Ethiopian society, although in recent years the Ethiopian government has warned of rising extremism among a section of the Muslim community.
