Ethiopia’s rights watchdog said on Thursday it was investigating the killing of 48 people in the restive Oromia region and laid the blame for the bloodbath on armed rebels.

The ambush by the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which is designated a terrorist organisation by Addis Ababa, occurred last week in the North Shewa district west of the capital, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said.

At least 48 people, including a district official, were killed. A number of people had also been kidnapped, he said, without specifying how many.

Oromia, Ethiopia’s most populous region, has since 2018 been in the grip of an insurrection by the OLA, while peace talks have failed to yield meaningful progress.

The region, which sits in the centre of the country and surrounds the capital, is racked by numerous conflicts including political schisms, land disputes and ethnic strife.

The OLA is accused by the government of orchestrating massacres, which the rebels deny. The authorities in turn are accused of waging an indiscriminate crackdown that has fuelled Oromo resentment.