ADDIS ABABA, Nov 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 78 people were killed in the violence which hit parts of Ethiopia last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s press secretary, Billene Seyoum, has said.
The security forces had arrested more than 400 people in connection with the killings and the destruction of properties, she added.
The violence broke out after an influential activist from the Oromo ethnic group, Jawar Mohammed, said on Facebook that the government was trying to endanger his life by removing his bodyguards. The government denied the allegation.
Billene said the violence had an ethnic and religious dimension to it and had been exacerbated by the involvement of forces “that push to create a climate of fear and hopelessness”.
Police in the Oromia region, which was badly affected by the violence, had previously said that 68 people had been killed.
Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for ending hostilities with neighbouring Eritrea, and his efforts to achieve reconciliation in Ethiopia. — NNN-AGENCIES
