AOctober 2019 Ethiopian clasheswas acivil unrestthat broke out inAddis Ababa,on 23 October 2019 and swiftly spread to entireOromia Regionafter activist and Director ofOromia Media Network,Jawar Mohammedreported on hisFacebook pagearound midnight, on Tuesday. In his post, Jawar has said that his house was surrounded by police officers and that they tried to withdraw his security guards from their posts.[3]His VIP security detail was assigned to him by the government once he arrived from the US.[4][5]According to official reports, 86 people were killed, 76 were killed byCommunal violence,while 10 weresecurity forcesof Ethiopia.[6]
| October 2019 Ethiopian clashes | |
|---|---|
 TheOromiain Ethiopia. | |
| Location | Oromia,Ethiopiaand vicinity |
| Date | 23–28 October 2019 |
Attack type | Pogrom,looting,arson,mass murder |
| Deaths | 86[1] |
| Motive | Clashes reported betweenopponentsand Jawar supporters[2] |
Background
editIn October 2019, Ethiopian activist and media ownerJawar Mohammedclaimed that members of the police had attempted to force his security detail to vacate the grounds of his home inAddis Ababain order to detain him the night of 23 October, intimating that they had done so at the behest of Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmed.The previous day, Abiy had given a speech in Parliament in which he had accused "media owners who don't have Ethiopian passports" of "playing it both ways", a thinly veiled reference to Jawar, adding that "if this is going to undermine the peace and existence of Ethiopia... we will take measures."[7][8]
Events
editThe reports sparked nationwide protests. The morning after the report, Jawar supporters congregated around his house in Addis Ababa to protest, denouncing Prime Minister Abiy and his government. Protesters began blockading roads in Oromia. In the late afternoon, protests turned to violence as police clear blockade and counter-protests began, leaving at least 67 people dead, including five police officers.[9][10][11]After the protests spread to the Karakore neighborhood, local residents counter-protested, resulting in police intervention to separate the two groups.[12]Protesters blocked key highways, in particular roads leading to Addis Ababa. There were however scenes of kindness; residents inWelkiteandButajiraprovided food and shelter for those stuck on the road.[13]An eyewitness told Reuters that he had seen the bodies of at least seven people who had been "beaten to death using sticks, metal rods and machetes".[14]
On 23 October, clashes occurred inAmbo,Adama,andHaramaya,killing at least 6 and injuring 40. Road blockages were reported inShashamaneand riots occurred in Addis Ababa and surrounding towns, including the neighborhoods of Bole Bulbula, Kotebe, and Karakore.[15]InDodola woreda,the violence targeted theOrthodox community,with shops and houses attacked. Members of the community took shelter in the local church, but there were "dozens injured" after a grenade was thrown into the church yard. Later, police took some of the injured for medical treatment, but "a mob stopped the vehicle and brutally killed three of the injured" before they could reach the hospital.[16]Victims toldAgence France-Pressethat in Adama rioters attacked those who could not speakOromo.[17]A group in Adama attacked aVoice of Americareporter who was covering the riots; he was taken to hospital but escaped serious injury.[18]
On 24 October, 68 people were arrested after looting and attempting to burn a mosque and church inAdama,according to the city's mayor, in an attempt to "spark ethnic and religious conflict".[14]Oromia police confirmed on Friday that the number of people killed in the region in connection with the latest string of violence seems to have taken ethnic and religious form, has reached 67.[13]TheEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churchcalled for peace and condemned the violence in a meeting with government officials.[19]Jawar appealed for calm and claimed that his supporters were re-opening roads, but at the same time told his followers "to sleep with one eye open"; riots continued.[8]
The latest protests came days after the first popular protest against Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmedwas held since he came to power back in April 2018.[20]Security forces had been deployed in Ambo,Bishoftu,Bale Robe,Mojo,Adama,Harar,andDire Dawa.A national blood drive was launched to help the victims, with over 100,000 participating in the first two days.[21]Kefyalew Tefera, Oromo Regional police commissioner, said that there had been "a hidden agenda to divert the whole protest into an ethnic and religious conflict; there were attempts to burn churches and mosques."[14]The official death toll had reached 67, with 15 rioters having been killed by security forces and the remainder killed by others, including at least five police officers.[14]According to local media, "citizen reports" however suggest the true death toll is upwards of one hundred.[13]
On 31 October, Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmedupdated the death toll to at 78, adding that least 400 people had been arrested around the country in connection with the attacks.[22]Protests against Abiy erupted in Addis Ababa and in Ethiopia's Oromia region on October 23 after a high-profile activist accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him. The activist at the centre of last week's protests, Jawar Mohammed, is credited with helping to sweep Abiy to power last year but he has recently become critical of some of the premier's policies.[22]
Aftermath and reactions
edit
Today I am deeply grieved. I have the urge to weep like a child. My heart is crushed by grief. My eyes have had no sleep, but many tears. In the day to day hopes for improvement, we have been asking the government to put a stop to it [the violence]. However, we have seen nothing change. Instead, I have caused my children to be massacred. While I was preaching to you about peace, those that do not know peace have deprived you of peace.
Prime Minister Abiy, who had been inSochiattending theRussia-Africa Summit,issued a statement upon his return the evening of the 26th, in which he vowed "to bring the perpetrators to justice" and warned that instability could worsen if "Ethiopians did not unite".Billene Seyoum,Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, said that violence was in part a "backlash" to plans to merge the rulingEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Frontinto a single party.[22]
Abiy has been criticised for his belated response to the violence, including by theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[24][11]"People are dying and questions are being raised if the government even exists. The people are losing all hope," said a church spokesman.[24]On October 28,Abune Mathias,Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, made an emotional appeal for the violence to stop and expressed his grief over the casualties. Another bishop said that the faithful who had been killed had "thought that they were living among fellow humans but were unexpectedly devoured by wolves".[23]
Shimelis Abdisa,acting President of theOromia,condemned the "incident" with Jawar, terming it a "major mistake", and called for an investigation.[25][26]Federal Police Commissioner, General Endeshaw Tassew, denied that the police had targeted Jawar, but said that they had been "reassessing the need for private security details for VIPs".[25]
References
edit- ^Ethiopian PM Abiy defends response to ethnic clashes,retrieved4 November2019
- ^Tensions rise in Addis & towns in Oromia after talk of an activist's change of security guard spreads,23 October 2019,retrieved23 October2019
- ^"Ethiopia: Justice Needed for Deadly October Violence | Human Rights Watch".1 April 2020.Retrieved6 February2024.
- ^Ethiopia Events of 2019,retrieved24 October2019
- ^Tensions rise in Addis & towns in Oromia after talk of an activist's change of security guard spreads,23 October 2019,retrieved23 October2019
- ^Ethiopian PM Abiy defends response to ethnic clashes,retrieved4 November2019
- ^Dahir, Abdi Latif (24 October 2019)."Protests in Ethiopia Threaten to Mar Image of Its Nobel-Winning Leader".New York Times.Retrieved24 October2019.
- ^abTiksa, Negeri (24 October 2019)."Ethiopia activist calls for calm after 16 killed in clashes".Reuters.Retrieved24 October2019.
- ^Peralta, Eyder; Dwyer, Colin (24 October 2019)."Nobel Peace Prize Winner Faces Protests After Activist's Late-Night Standoff".NPR.Retrieved24 October2019.
- ^"Anti-government protests leave 67 dead in Ethiopia – police".TRT World.25 October 2019.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^abMarks, Simon (25 October 2019)."67 Killed in Ethiopia Unrest, but Nobel-Winning Prime Minister Is Quiet".New York Times.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^Sileshi, Ephrem; Fasil, Mahlet (24 October 2019)."Analysis: Protests, security standoff across Oromia, Addis Abeba – what happened".Addis Standard.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^abc"Ethiopia's Oromo region violence death toll reach 67".Borkena.25 October 2019.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^abcdFick, Maggie (26 October 2019)."Violence during Ethiopian protests was ethnically tinged, say eyewitnesses".Reuters.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^"News Update: More casualties, roadblocks continue for 2nd day as elders, authorities attempt to pacify protests".Addis Standard.24 October 2019.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^Fantahun, Arefaynie (25 October 2019)."Ethnic Amharas targeted in killings in Oromia region".Ethiopia Observer.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^"'Still I'm afraid': Victims reel from deadly Ethiopia clashes ".New Straits Times.Agence France-Presse.1 November 2019.Retrieved1 November2019.
- ^"Ethiopia: Qeerroo attacked VOA reporter while covering stories in Adama".Borkena.25 October 2019.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^"EOTC, Gov't Discuss Current National Issues".FanaBC.26 October 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2019.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^Endashaw, Dawit (26 October 2019)."Chaotic Days".The Reporter.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^"Ethiopia Launches Blood Donation Campaign".FanaBC.26 October 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2019.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^abc"Ethiopia arrests 400 as govt defends response to deadly ethnic violence".Yahoo News.Agence France-Presse.31 October 2019.Retrieved1 November2019.
- ^ab"Ethiopian Patriarch's tearful message for followers of Orthodox church".Borkena.28 October 2019.Retrieved28 October2019.
- ^ab"Orthodox Ethiopians criticise PM Abiy over deadly clashes".Yahoo News.Agence France-Presse.27 October 2019.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^abAbiye, Yonas (26 October 2019)."Roaring October".The Reporter.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^Melton, Marissa; Halake, Sora; Wayessa, Dhaba (24 October 2019)."Protests in Ethiopia's Oromia Region (sic) Call Security Into Question".Voice of America.Retrieved27 October2019.