People react at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ehiopia, to protest on September 17, 2018, against the killing of 23 people and displacement of residents in Burayu town over the weekend. PHOTO” MAHEDER HAILESELASSIE TADESE | AFP
ADDIS ABABA
At least 28 people have been killed and more than 2,500 youths arrested in the latest flare-up in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, an official has confirmed.
Addis Ababa Police Commissioner, Major General Degife Badi, on Monday said the deaths arose from clashes between youths from Addis Ababa and those from the neighbouring Oromia.
LIBERATION FRONT
The dead include five people who were shot by security forces in Addis Ababa, during demonstrations against the killing of dozens of people in Burayu town of Oromia, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa.
Some 12,000 non-Oromo people were reportedly displaced.
The clashes were first reported on September 13, when some Oromo youths began painting the streets of Addis Ababa with the colours of the flag of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Their action prompted resistance by their Addis Ababa counterparts, occasioning the violent confrontations, according to the police commissioner.
“Some unidentified youth in Addis Ababa tried to stop those from Oromia who were painting the streets,” Maj Gen Degife said, adding that stopping them should have been the duty of police.
After two days of tension, the exiled leaders of the OLF, once branded a terrorist group, were treated to a colourful welcome in Addis Ababa on September 15.
Police said the welcome ceremony was peaceful but added that 107 of the people involved in the clashes will be arraigned on various charges.
BURAYU KILLINGS
Police said, however, that the Burayu killings and displacements were not related to the clashes in Addis Ababa.
Security agents blamed the Addis Ababa chaos on gangsters intent on committing robberies.
They said the robbers made their actions look like an attack by Oromo youth on members of other communities, to inflame ethnic conflicts.
Reports indicate that the people displaced from Burayu were returning to their homes.
Maj Gen Degife said that over the past few days, another 1,459 people were arrested in Addis Ababa for smoking shisha, chewing khat and engaging in gambling.
He said most of them were released after police cautioned them to desist from engaging in the activities.
/Daily Nation/
