ADDIS ABABA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Police in Ethiopia's western regional state of Benishangul Gumuz has arrested 62 people in connection with recent deadly ethnic violence, an official said on Thursday.
Benishangul Gumuz Police Commissioner Mohammed Hamednil said the 62 were arrested together with hundreds of blunt weapons the suspects are believed to have used in recent ethnic violence.
Transportation services that had been suspended within areas in Benishangul Gumuz regional state and between Benishangul Gumuz regional state and the neighboring Amhara regional state have resumed, Hamednil said.
An investigation team consisting of federal and regional police officers have been deployed to unrest-affected areas to look into what caused the deadly unrest, he said.
On Friday, the Benishangul Gumuz Communication Office said 21 people were killed in ethnic violence in the region in April.
The violence involved members of the Gumuz ethnic group and the Amhara ethnic group, the office said in a statement.
Ethiopia follows an ethnic federalism model, which has been credited with giving self-governance rights to the more than 80 ethnic groups that make Ethiopia's population of about 105 million.
However, critics say the federalism model magnifies ethnic diversity at the expense of national unity, leading to occasional deadly ethnic clashes.
