Violent weekend clashes between protesters and security forces have claimed the lives of more than a dozen people across Ethiopia, while hundreds staged a rare anti-government demonstration in the capital.
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Some 500 ethnic Oromo people protesting both discrimination and what they perceive as economic equality, gathered iin Meskel Square amid a heavy police presence, shouting slogans such as “we want our freedom” and “free our political prisoners”. “This death toll might be higher because there were a lot of wounded”, said Merera Gudina, leader of the opposition Oromo People’s Congress.
A diplomat confirmed 49 were killed across Oromia, a vast region stradding central-western Ethiopia, and in Amhara, in the north.
The government announced on Sunday that seven protesters also died in the capital of the northern Amhara region, Bahir Dar.
People rallied around various causes.
He stated, “The brutal response of the government risks provoking more anger and making it worse”.
Authorities have banned demonstrations and blocked social media.
The widespread dissatisfaction with the Ethiopian government can be found predominantly within the Oromo ethnic group, the country’s largest ethnic group, which has been marginalized and oppressed by the Amharas, the second largest ethnic group, who make up the country’s elite.
READ: Hundreds of protesters clash with police in Ethiopia, two killed.
A Reuters news agency video of the confrontation showed unarmed protesters being beaten and kicked by police officers, as protesters ran to evade arrest.
Oromia saw unrest for several months until early this year, sparked by plans to allocate farmland in the region surrounding the capital for development.
They believe they are being discriminated against with the government favoring the ethnic Tigrayans, giving them key government jobs and giving them favor in security forces positions.
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Before news of Saturday’s fatalities came in, Ethiopian authorities said at least a dozen people had been killed in clashes with police over territorial disputes in recent weeks.
