Police say at least 166 people have died in the protests and community clashes that rocked Ethiopia after the murder of a star singer on Monday, a new report released on Saturday July 4 by police said.

"After Hachalu's death, 145 civilians and 11 members of the security forces lost their lives in unrest in the region," said Oromia state police deputy chief Girma Gelam in a statement. press release broadcast on state television Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

Ten other people, including two police officers, were killed in Addis Ababa, according to the capital's police.

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Girma Gelam also reported 167 people "seriously injured" and a thousand arrests. He said the violence had "completely stopped".

Among the 166 dead, some were killed by the security forces and others in clashes between members of various communities.

The Ethiopian army was deployed on Wednesday in Addis Ababa where armed groups roamed the streets for several consecutive days of bloody protests that spread across the province of Oromia surrounding the Ethiopian capital.

Ethnic federalism put to the test

This violence highlights the growing ethnic tensions in Ethiopia and underlines the fragility of the democratic transition implemented by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize 2019.

Since coming to power, Abiy Ahmed has worked to reform a system that had previously been very authoritarian. But in doing so, it opened the door to inter-communal violence which tests the Ethiopian system of ethnic federalism.

Hachalu Hundessa was assassinated on June 29 in Addis Ababa. Although appreciated by Ethiopians of various origins, he was especially the voice of the Oromo, who had denounced their economic and political marginalization during the anti-government demonstrations which led in 2018 to the coming to power of Abiy Ahmed, a member of this community.

His very political texts expressed the frustrations of this ethnic group, the largest in number, but which has long felt marginalized economically and politically.

With AFP and Reuters

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