Soldiers from Eritrea systematically killed "many hundreds" of people, the large majority men, in a massacre late November in the Ethiopian city of Axum in the Tigray region, Amnesty International said Friday. The new report echoed the findings of an Associated Press story last week and cited more than 40 witnesses.

Amnesty International accused Eritrean forces on Friday of killing hundreds of civilians in northern Ethiopia over 24 hours last year, an incident it described as a potential crime against humanity. Eritrea rejected the accusations. It was a rare official acknowledgment from Ethiopia that Eritrean troops participated in the conflict during the government's crackdown in the Tigray region last year.

Guesh Liasanewerk’s family had just gathered to celebrate the birth of his sister’s child four days earlier. Sitting in their home in a rural area outside of the historic Ethiopian city of Axum, they were interrupted by Eritrean soldiers storming in. Within moments, the men, including his 78-year-old father and 17-year-old brother, were executed by gunshots. Amnesty International has called the Axum killings, which took place Nov.