The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abi Ahmed, announced that the violence in his country over the past days was an attempt to ignite a civil war and was thwarted, and said in a meeting with senior civil and military officials in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that his government foiled an attempt to ignite a civil war in the country, after the killing of Oromo singer Hashalu Hundisa.
The office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister stated that Abe stressed the importance of holding accountable those who committed and instigated the heinous crimes, according to what was reported by "Sputnik" news agency.
The death toll from the protests in Ethiopia is 52, and a regional spokesman in the Oromia Getachew Palcha region said last Wednesday that at least 52 people were killed in Oromia during protests after the killing of a popular singer.
Singer Hashalu Hundisa was shot dead on Monday night, while police said he was deliberately killed. Protests erupted over the killing of the singer and the feeling of political marginalization the following morning in the Ethiopian capital and in other cities in the Oromia region.
Spokesman Getachew Palcha said that the dead included demonstrators and members of the security forces, noting that some companies had been set on fire. He told Reuters: "We were not prepared for this."
Police said late Tuesday night that a policeman was killed in Addis Ababa and there were three explosions there that resulted in an unspecified number of dead and wounded. The authorities arrested Bekele Gerba, leader of the opposition in the Oromia region and Jawhar Muhammad, the media mogul, when Jawhar's personal guards refused to leave his weapons in a confrontation with the police.
In a previous report, "Reuters" stated that the unrest in Ethiopia highlights the growing divisions in the base of influence of Prime Minister Abi Ahmed among the Oromo people, as ethnic activists are increasingly challenging the government after they were allies.
In a televised speech on Tuesday evening, Abi described the killing of singer Hashalu Hundisa as "an evil act". "It is an act committed and inspired by enemies at home and abroad to destabilize our peace and prevent us from achieving the things that we have started," he said.
Police reported that Hashalu was shot dead around 9:30 pm on Monday. Addis Ababa City Police Commissioner Ghetto Aargau told official media that the police had arrested some suspects. The police explained that the killing appeared to be well planned.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Jawhar and the slain singer belong to the Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, and have long complained of being marginalized until Abi was appointed Prime Minister in 2018. The Federal Police Commissioner Indishu said that Jawhar, the leader of an opposition political party belonging to the Oromo, and 33 other people had been arrested. He added that the police confiscated weapons and radios from the Jawhar Guard.
Jawhar became a strong critic of Abu Ahmed after he was one of his strongest supporters. The Jawhar owned television station said it was forced to broadcast via satellite from the US state of Minnesota after the Ethiopian police raided its offices and detained staff.
The slain singer criticized the Ethiopian leadership in an interview with Johar's media network last week. Jawhar commented on the singer's death on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning, saying, "They not only killed Hashalu. But they shot the heart of the Oromo nation again. You can kill us, all ... but you will never stop us."