ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A command post overseeing Ethiopia's state of emergency said security forces mistakenly killed nine civilians in Moyale, near the country's southern border with Kenya.

The command post said in a statement Sunday that five members of Ethiopia's National Defense Forces involved in the killings have been disarmed and are under investigation.

A human rights group said that since Ethiopia's government declared a state of emergency in mid-February the security forces have killed several other people. The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia said on March 9 that seven people were killed by security forces in the restive Oromia region so far this month.

Ethiopia imposed the state of emergency following months of unrest in some parts of the country, tarnishing the country's image as one of Africa's best performing economies.