ADDIS ABABA: More than 1,100 people have been arrested in Ethiopia since the nation declared a state of emergency following the prime minister’s resignation last month, state media reported on Saturday.
Hailemariam Desalegn’s surprise resignation came after more than two years of anti-government protests and increasing divisions in the ruling party.
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has for the first time picked an ethnic Oromo, Abiy Ahmed, to be its new leader.
He is set to be sworn in as prime minister early next week.
The state-affiliated Fana Broadcast Corporate said 1,107 people have been detained for violating the emergency decree, which suspends the constitution and allows police to hold people without trial.
“They were detained for killing peaceful civilians and security forces, setting houses and financial institutions ablaze, illicit movement of firearms, destroying government and public institutions and blocking roads,” Fana reported, citing Tadesse Hordofa, chairman of a board overseeing the decree.
Ethiopia spiralled into crisis in late 2015 when the country’s largest ethnicity the Oromo began protesting a plan to expand the borders of the capital Addis Ababa into the surrounding Oromia region.
Russian Marines standing on top of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan , part of the Russian naval detachment...
Harris with Ukraine's president Zelenskiy at a peace summit in Switzerland. — Reuters FileLUCERNE, Switzerland: U.S....
The Summit on Peace in Ukraine kicks off in Switzerland on Saturday. — Tass FileBURGENSTOCK, Switzerland: Ukrainian...
Kenyan troops have been fighting off the threat from Somalia-based Shabaab militants since the year 2000. — AFP...
China's Premier Li Qiang waves as he arrives at Adelaide Airport on June 15, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. —...
The UK's royal family appears on the Buckingham Palace balcony. — ReutersLONDON:- Kate, Britain’s Princess of...