ADDIS
ABABA, Ethiopia
Clashes between Ethiopian security
forces and protesters demanding the release of an opposition politician and a
media magnate have killed at least nine people in the Oromiya region
surrounding the capital, health officials said on Thursday.
Ethiopians carry a protester died in clashes
with security forces
The unrest highlights growing
divisions in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Oromo power base as powerful ethnic
activists who were once allies increasingly challenge his government.
The protests started on Tuesday
after a social media campaign for the release of prominent Oromo opposition
leader Bekele Gerba and media mogul Jawar Mohammed, both arrested days after
the killing an iconic Oromo singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa.
Jawar was once a staunch
supporter of Abiy now turned vocal critic, while Bekele is a leader of an
opposition Oromo political party.
The singer’s death sparked
protests in the capital Addis Ababa and spread to the surrounding Oromiya
region, killing at least 178 people.
Harar region’s Hiwot Fana and
Jegol hospitals admitted 32 people with gunshot wounds on Tuesday, most from
Oromiya’s Aweday town, two doctors told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
Six of the wounded died and one
was in critical condition at Hiwot Fana Hospital, a doctor at the hospital
said.
“They were shot in their head,
chest and abdomen,” the doctor from Hiwot Fana Hospital said.
In Ciro, 320 km (200 miles) east
of Addis Ababa, 30 people were taken to hospital, 25 of them with bullet
wounds, a health official told Reuters. Two died on Tuesday and a third on
Wednesday.
Abiy’s office referred Reuters to
the Oromiya regional government for comment.
Getachew Balcha, the Oromiya
regional government spokesman, did not return calls or text messages seeking
comment.
The state-run Ethiopian Human
Rights Commission called for an investigation.
“Authorities should ensure that the right to peaceful protest can be exercised, and law enforcement measures against anything beyond that do not exceed proportion,” spokesman Aaron Maasho said in a statement.
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