ADDIS ABABA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Ethnic clashes in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state have left hundreds of people dead, an Ethiopian official said Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Endale Haile, chief ombudsman of the state-backed Ethiopia Institution of the Ombudsman, said hundreds have been killed in one-month-long sporadic ethnic clashes in Amhara regional state.

The clashes are centered in several localities in North Shoa Zone and Oromo Nationalities Administrative Zone of Amhara regional state.

"The ethnic clashes involving ethnic Oromos and ethnic Amharas which started on March 19 and continued sporadically for at least one month have also displaced nearly 332,000 people," Haile said in a statement. "The Amhara regional state, the Ethiopian Federal government and the International Red Cross are currently undertaking efforts to rehabilitate the displaced."

The Ethiopian chief ombudsman also said the ethnic clashes have resulted in the closure of part of the highway connecting Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to the northern Ethiopian city of Mekelle.

"Previously there used to be clashes between the two communities over grazing land especially during grazing season which never resulted in high number of causalities," Haile said.

Haile also told reporters, while the immediate reason for the recent clashes seemed to be ethnic, other political factors including a rise in radical Salafist brand of Islam could also play a part.

On Sunday, the Ethiopian army announced it has imposed a command post in unrest-hit areas of North Shoa Zone and Oromo Nationalities Administrative Zone in Amhara regional state.

"The command Post will help ensure the supremacy of the law on destructive forces that are disturbing the peace in these areas," the Ethiopian army statement said. Enditem

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