Many dead as police firing leads to Ethiopia stampede
Print Edition
POLICE in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region fired teargas and warning shots yesterday to disperse anti-government protesters at a religious festival, triggering a stampede that the opposition party said killed at least 50.
The government did not give a precise death toll resulting from chaotic scenes during the annual festival where some people chanted slogans against the government and waved a rebel group’s flag. But it said “lives were lost” and that several were injured.
Sporadic protests have erupted in Oromiya in the last two years, initially sparked by a land row but increasingly turning more broadly against the government. Since late 2015, scores of protesters have been killed in clashes with police.
These developments highlight tensions in a country where the government has delivered stellar economic growth rates but faced criticism from opponents and rights group that it has trampled on political freedoms.
Thousands of people had gathered for the annual Irreecha festival of thanksgiving in the town of Bishoftu, about 40 kilometers south of the capital Addis Ababa.
Crowds chanted “we need freedom” and “we need justice,” preventing community elders, deemed close to the government, from delivering their speeches at the festival.
When police fired teargas and guns into the air, crowds fled and caused a stampede, some falling into a deep ditch, witnesses said.
Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, said that at least 50 people were killed, saying his group had been talking to families of the victims.
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