According to Ethiopian media reports, a deadly attack occurred in the Konso zone of the Southern Nations region in southern Ethiopia, killing 8 police officers and 5 civilians and causing severe property damage.

According to the local district administrator, the attack was launched by "members of an extremist group," and the death toll has risen to 14. The "members of the extremist group" began the attack on August 18, and the attack lasted several days. The district branch and local government institutions were both attacked, and civilians and government personnel were also targeted.

According to reports from regional authorities and the police department, the attackers launched a fierce assault on the police station. The police force exchanged fire with the attackers, but the police force was defeated by the extremists, and in the end the police force could only withdraw. Afterwards, the attackers seized weapons and other items from the police station, and the attackers also robbed civilians, confiscating computers, mobile phones and various other property, took motorcycles and cars, and set fire to and destroyed government buildings as well as several houses

The scale of the attack was large, and it lasted several days. It was only when the Ethiopian National Defense Force and federal police entered the area that the group was prompted to flee. At present, efforts are under way to find some abducted civilians and confirm the death toll.

It is understood that the group behind this attack originally lived in the neighboring area, but the group attacked the special police force in that area, was wanted by the government, and then fled to the Konso area and launched an armed attack. Moreover, in recent times, it has been continuously attacking the area, which has already displaced about 37,000 people in the area, and this attack is the largest so far.

According to a statement issued by the Konso area communications office on August 24, recent extremist forces have destabilized the area, disrupted the peace of the people, and destroyed infrastructure including police stations and administrative buildings. At present, in recent times, digital medical equipment in hospitals, government vehicles and equipment belonging to the offices of 23 government departments have been looted and destroyed, and crops have been ruined, livestock stolen, property smashed and casualties caused, with more than 600 million birr in property destroyed to date.

The Konso area where this attack took place belongs to the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, but at the same time it is part of the Sidamo coffee-producing region, and Sidamo is one of Ethiopia's important producing regions, and the area is very close to the Yirgacheffe producing region. Although the armed elements have fled the Konso area, they may flee to nearby areas to launch attacks and destruction, causing damage to coffee and other agricultural industries in the area, and will reduce coffee production in the area.

Previously, Ethiopia's armed conflict was in the north of the country, while the coffee-producing regions are all west and south of Ethiopia's capital, but earlier, armed attacks had already occurred in south-central Ethiopia, and the current armed attack is taking place directly in the southern coffee-producing regions, causing a direct impact on the country's coffee industry.

Moreover, due to Ethiopia's earlier reforms, in theory the post-reform depreciation of the Ethiopian currency, the birr, would boost exports and make them cheaper, but Ethiopia's export demand is unstable, and domestic inflation has driven up input costs. Therefore, experts at the Ethiopian Economic Association say that, given the impact of current domestic inflation and security issues, export revenue is unlikely to grow significantly in the short term; on the contrary, Ethiopia relies heavily on scarce essential imports, which exacerbates the negative effects of currency depreciation, and as import costs rise, the trade deficit may worsen in the short term.

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