By RFIPalled on 27-10-2019Modified on 27-10-2019 at 17:37

In Ethiopia, the prime minister said on Saturday (October 26th) that the violence that claimed the lives of 67 people this week could get worse. Abiy Ahmed, recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, urged his fellow citizens to unite, a barely veiled allusion to the communal nature of the clashes.

In his speech, the head of the Ethiopian government assured that he was working " tirelessly " to " bring to justice " the culprits.

The Prime Minister's statements are the first since the violence erupted in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, October 23 in Addis Ababa, before spreading to the region of Oromia .

Critics have criticized Abiy Ahmed, who was in Sochi this week for the Russia-Africa summit, for not reacting to the clashes more quickly. It's now done.

In a speech on Saturday, the prime minister insisted on national unity and the rule of law.

When he spoke of the importance of bringing those responsible for the violence to justice, he refrained from referring to his rival, Jawar Mohammed. In the past, Abiy Ahmed did not hesitate to openly criticize him, insinuating that Jawar Mohammed could still slip away when the situation in Ethiopia became tense with his US passport.

This journalist and activist, who has nearly 2 million subscribers on Facebook, is often accused of inciting ethnic hatred.

The clashes of the last days have, on the one hand, opposed communities - with sticks and machetes, according to Amnesty International - and, on the other hand, civilians to the police. A dozen people were killed when police opened fire on protesters.

It remains to be seen whether the speech of the head of government will allow the calm, which reigned Sunday morning in the capital, to continue.

On the same Sunday, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church denounced the response of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government to the violence that has just shaken the country. With AFP, Father Markos Gebre-Egziabher, senior official of the Orodox Church, assures that the Prime Minister has failed in his duty to protect its members.

    On the same subject

    The toll of violence in Ethiopia is getting heavier

    Ethiopia: what happened around the home of oromo leader Jawar Mohammed?

    Tensions in Ethiopia around the fate of a nationalist leader Oromo

    Ethiopia: Government tries to keep control of Amhara province

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