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As violence in Ethiopia continues to escalate, gunmen in the western part of the country killed at least 34 people in an attack on a bus on Saturday night, the national human rights body said on Sunday, as fears grow of a security vacuum in the country amid a military campaign in the north.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Reuters noted, said the number of people killed was likely to rise after what it called a “gruesome” attack on the passenger bus in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. It said there were reports of “similar” attacks, and of people fleeing the violence, in other parts of the region.

“The latest attack is a grim addition to the human cost which we bear collectively,” Daniel Bekele, commission head, said in a statement.

He urged regional and federal authorities to work together on a strategy for Benishangul-Gumuz due to the “unrelenting pace” of attacks there. Armed militiamen killed at least 45 people in the same region in September, according to the Ethiopian government.

The violence comes amid a 12-day-old war between the Ethiopian Government and the restive Tigray region in the country’s north. 

Experts say that conflict could encourage other ethnic groups to exploit the chaos to push for more autonomy, while the redeployment of forces to Tigray could leave other regions exposed.

In what is obviously a suicide intent, a 30-year-old fisherman died on Sunday after jumping into Lake Victoria from a moving water bus. 

Samuel Otieno died near Sienga beach in Mfangano North Location, Mbita Sub-County on Sunday evening while on his way to Mfangano Island.

Witnesses said Otieno was seated in an open part of the waterbus from where he jumped into the water as the vessel was moving.

Mfangano North Location Chief Bernard Oloo who was also a passenger in the vessel said the waterbus reversed to enable other passengers to rescue the fisherman. However, the rescue efforts were futile.

“We could see him floating on water but he sank before the waterbus reached where we had spotted him,” Oloo said, adding that they did not know why he jumped into the water.

“He did not talk to anybody about his intention. We used his mobile phone which he placed near his shoes to trace his origin,” the administrator added.

They found that Otieno hails from Kanyamwa Komungu village in Ndhiwa Sub-County. He had been fishing at Litare Beach on Rusinga Island, Mbita.

Mr Oloo said they had liaised with the local fishermen to help retrieve the body.

Mbita Sub-County Deputy Police Commander James Ademba said his officers were investigating the matter.

“We have heard about the incident but nobody has recorded an official statement about it,” Ademba said.