Addis Ababa, 19 September 2018: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has received with utmost sadness and shock the news of the attack during the weekend against innocent civilians in the locality of Burayu, near Addis Ababa, in the course of which a number of people were killed and many others wounded and displaced.

The Chairperson of the Commission strongly condemns these cowardly acts, and stresses that the African Union shares the grief of the Ethiopian people. He expresses the African Union’s condolences to the Government of Ethiopia and the families of the victims, as well as its full solidarity at this moment of mourning.

The Chairperson of the Commission is convinced that this criminal attack will only strengthen the resolve of the Ethiopian leadership and people to stand in unity, persevere on the path of reform and ensure the prevalence of the rule of the law. He reiterates the African Union’s support to the efforts of the Ethiopian Government in this respect, and hails the commitment and determination of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.