At least 21 students have been released from captivity after being abducted in early December while six others remain in captivity.

According to reports Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told state television that 13 female students and eight males had “been released in a peaceful manner” but that six others were still unaccounted for. He did not say whether ransoms were paid, nor whom the government believed was responsible.

The incident occurred in Ethiopia’‘s Oromia region is the latest incident of growing insecurity at colleges across the country.

A female student “said:-21-students-freed-after-mass-abduction/1706238 the group from Dembi Dollo University was abducted on December 4 when gunmen stopped a bus ferrying them to Addis Ababa from Dembi Dollo University, more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) to the west.

According to National Movement of Amhara there is an all-out attacks on ethic Amhara students in the Oromo region of Ethiopia and that the abductors are holding the 17 abductees as a hostage until “Government returns all ethnic Oromo students in Amhara region back to Oromia region”.

Ethiopia’s parliament passed legislation on Thursday aimed at curbing gun ownership after a surge in regional ethnic violence over the past two years that have displaced more than 2.7 million people.

#Ethiopia: National Movement of Amhara(NaMA) condemn gov’t negligence about abducted girls https://t.co/GU7kueaTOR ''NaMA claims in the statement that it has knocked on the doors of relevant authorities seeking for but the matter fell on deaf ears.'' pic.twitter.com/0Y9IBFVeZS

— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) January 11, 2020