Addis Abeba — Derbe Belete, head of the Prosperity Party (PP) office in Kobo town, North Wollo Zone of the Amhara region, was reportedly killed by gunfire, sources informed Addis Standard.
In an interview with Addis Standard, Sisay Belete, Derbe's elder brother, confirmed his brother's death, noting that Derbe was a father of four children.
A resident, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, stated that Derbe was killed by gunfire around 10 a.m. yesterday, 10 November, 2024, while having breakfast at the Mikiele Solomon Hotel in Kobo town.
The resident identified the assailants as "Fano" militants and reported that Addisu Wedajo, head of the Kobo town land registration office, sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.
Additionally, it was confirmed that Mekdes Alemayehu and Abebe Chane, both local residents present in the hotel at the time of the attack, were injured and later admitted to Kobo Hospital.
Reports also indicate that a man who had traveled from another area, making a living by selling traditional toothbrushes made from local trees, was severely injured in the shooting. He was subsequently transferred to Weldiya Referral Hospital for further treatment.
The killing of Derbie Belete is among a series of recent attacks targeting government officials in the Amhara region.
In June 2024, Addis Standard reported that Milishu Bekele, head of the North Shewa Zone's Kowet District Administration Office, was killed by armed assailants while moving through the city.
In July 2023, Abdu Hussein, head of security for the Shewa Robit City Administration in the North Shewa Zone, was fatally shot by unidentified individuals. Within 24 hours of Abdu's death, two senior security officials in Dejen District of East Gojam Zone, Inspector Zewdu Tadele and Deputy Inspector Worku Shimelus, were also killed while overseeing eighth-grade exams.
Earlier, on 01 September, 2022, Shewa Robit lost its mayor, Wubshet Ayalew, who was shot and killed by unknown assailants. Two months later, on 23 November, Tsion Tegegn, an official in the Shewa Robit City Administration's Revenue Department, was similarly shot and killed by unidentified attackers while traveling by bus to visit her family.
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However, the killing of Girma Yeshitila, head of the Amhara region's ruling Prosperity Party, in late April 2023 marked a critical turning point. Girma, along with five others, was gunned down while traveling from Mehal Meda to Debre Berihan in the North Shewa Zone, an incident widely regarded as having escalated the region's ongoing crisis.
