An Ethiopian security official accused Egypt of being involved in the unrest that witnessed his country over two days and left more than 80 people dead after the assassination of an artist and political activist, while Prime Minister Abi Ahmed confirmed that the aim of the crime is to prevent the completion of the construction of the Renaissance Dam.

A spokesman for the Oromo region, from which the murdered artist and activist Hashalu Hundisa and the Prime Minister descended, said that Egypt was involved in the turmoil that erupted after Hundisa was killed by unknown persons in the capital, Addis Ababa.

For his part, the Ethiopian Prime Minister condemned the assassination, which his government described as the mastermind, and accused foreign and local authorities of seeking to destabilize his country and prevent it from completing the Renaissance Dam.

"At a time when the UN Security Council was meeting to discuss the Renaissance Dam crisis, the assassination took place. It is a crime in which external forces participated and carried out by a local force, and the goal is to prevent us from completing the Renaissance Dam. What the enemies want and what they are planning to do will not be achieved," Ahmed said in a televised speech. ".

He described what happened as an "evil act" committed and incited by internal and external enemies so that they may spoil peace and prevent us from accomplishing the things we started.

He described the tragedy, and vowed to bring Hondissa's killers to justice, and the police had earlier said they had arrested a number of suspects in the murder that took place on Monday evening.

Hundisa was a prominent activist in the protests that paved the way for the current prime minister to take over at the head of a coalition of parties.

His assassination took place under internal tension after the postponement of the general elections due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, and also in light of a confrontation between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Renaissance Dam that amounted to the exchange of threats between the two countries.

Addis Ababa confirmed a few days ago that it would start after two weeks to fill the dam reservoir despite the strong opposition from Egypt, which transmitted the file to the Security Council, in a move that Ethiopia said it would complicate the issue.

The outcome of the unrest

Immediately after Hondisa's death, violence erupted, beginning with three bombings in Addis Ababa, which resulted in the deaths of a policeman.

Subsequently, the unrest expanded to include other areas in Oromia region, and the Regional Police Commissioner confirmed to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation today that 81 people, including three security personnel, were killed in the protests that took place in the region on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Oromia police spokesman said that 50 people were killed on Tuesday in the region, while the representative of the opposition "Oromo Federal Congress" party said that nine other people were killed today and their bodies were transferred to the main Ombo hospital in Oromia.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister confirmed casualties, without specifying their number, and the death toll announced by the police does not include the bombings in Addis Ababa.

According to the official in charge of the media in the Ombo region, the birthplace of the artist and the murdered activist, the violence erupted after youths of the Oromo ethnicity demanded that the victim be buried in Addis Ababa and not in Ombo.

For its part, the Associated Press said that there were no demonstrations recorded today in Addis Ababa, where the streets were empty, noting that the burial of Houndsa will take place tomorrow, Thursday.

In an attempt to contain the unrest, the Ethiopian authorities cut off the Internet, while 35 people, including well-known Oromo activist Gawar Mohamed, were arrested.

It is noteworthy that Oromo is the largest nationality in Ethiopia with a population of close to 100 million, and has long complained of its marginalization in politics and governance until Abi Ahmed came to the premiership two years ago, ending decades of the Tigray nationalism's control of the reins of power.