Ahmed Abdullah-Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmed has said his government will not tolerate those he calls advocates of violence and chaos in the country, stressing that legal and fair measures will be taken to protect Ethiopians and state institutions, following violent protests in the country.
In a speech broadcast on state television on Sunday evening, Ahmed called for the unity of the Ethiopian people in order to overcome the current challenges facing the country.
He said the violence that took place in several areas of Oromia and Harer provinces and in the city of Driedao on 23 October last year killed 86 people (82 men and 4 women).
Ahmed said the civilian death toll was 76, while 10 policemen were killed in the violence in the country, describing those acts as "unacceptable."
The violence erupted during anti-Prime Minister demonstrations in the capital Addis Ababa, before spreading to the Oromia region after the opposition supporters took to the street, burning tires, erecting roadblocks and blocking roads in several cities.
The prime minister said in his televised speech that these events were a disgrace to the Ethiopians who have lived through the ideals of tolerance and coexistence, as he put it.
Ahmed reiterated his government's commitment to maintaining peace and security for its citizens, as well as working to correct the mistakes of the past, appealing to clerics, dignitaries, leaders of political parties and organizations to work on what unites Ethiopians, and to renounce violence and promote tolerance and address all those who advocate violence and tribal fighting.
The unrest erupted after opposition leader Jawhar Mohammed accused security forces of trying to coordinate an attack against him and arrest him. Hundreds flocked to his home in the center of the capital before authorities denied any attempt in this regard during a press conference by the Director-General of the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission.
The Ethiopian Defense Ministry announced the deployment of military forces in several areas of Oromia - the largest regions of the country - with the aim of controlling security after violent protests.
Opposition Jawhar Mohammed was instrumental in anti-government demonstrations, which led to the overthrow of Abe Ahmed's predecessor and the latter's appointment in April 2018 as prime minister, both of the ethnic Oromo, the country's largest ethnic group.
Jawhar said his supporters no longer believed Abe Ahmed's reformist promises, accusing him of centralizing government, suppressing dissent and imprisoning political opponents as his predecessors did.
Gohar is accused by his opponents of inciting ethnic hatred in Africa's second most populous country (110 million people).
Gohar returned to Ethiopia in August 2018 from the United States, where he ran the Oromia Media Network, which was broadcasting its Oromo language programs from there.