Addis Ababa, Apr 30 (IANS): Ethiopian security forces have arrested 373 individuals suspected of involvement in a deadly unrest in a northern city, an official said.

Desalegn Tassew, head of Amhara region's peace and security bureau, said the suspects are accused of involvement in violence in Gonder city earlier this week, reports Xinhua news agency.

Security forces who failed to uphold their duty to prevent the deadly violence are also being made legally liable, state media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate quoted Tassew as saying.

A local religious body, the Amhara Region Islamic Affairs Council, said on Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed by "extremist Christians" in Gonder city a day before.

However, Tassew, the Amhara region security chief, did not say how many were killed in the violence.

According to media reports, members of the Islamic and Christianity faiths have longstanding competing claims of ownership of land around a cemetery.