From the demonstration to the ethnic confrontation. At least 60 people were killed in the protest against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in the state of Oromia, Ethiopia, police said on Friday (October 25th).
"The total number of deaths in Oromia is 67," Kefyalew Tefera, chief of the regional police, said in the evening of Friday. About 55 people died in the conflict between them, and the remaining 12 were killed by security forces, he said.
The clashes prompted controversial Jawar Mohammed, opponent of Abiy Ahmed, to accuse the newly-appointed Nobel Peace Prize Prime Minister to behave like a "dictator".
"Killed with sticks, machete"
The violence erupted on Wednesday (October 23rd) in the capital, Addis Ababa, before spreading in the Oromia region, when Jawar Mohammed's supporters took to the streets, barricading and burning tires.
"Some have been killed with sticks, machetes, houses have been burned, guns have been used," Amnesty International researcher Fisseha Tekle told AFP.
Founder of the opposition Oromia Media Network (OMN), Jawar Mohammed is a former ally of Abiy Ahmed. If they both belong to the Oromo community - the majority ethnic group in Ethiopia - their relations have deteriorated recently, Jawar Mohammed having publicly criticized several reforms of the Prime Minister.
According to him, Abiy Ahmed would have resorted to the "precursors signs of the establishment of a dictatorship". "He tried to intimidate people, including the allies who allowed him to take power but who disagree with some of his positions," he told AFP.
For its part, Jawar Mohammed, which has 1.7 million subscribers on Facebook, is accused by its detractors of inciting ethnic hatred in the second most populous country in Africa, with 110 million inhabitants.
This split between the two men illustrates the divisions within the Oromo ethnic group, which could weaken support for Abiy Ahmed ahead of the general elections scheduled for next May.
With AFP