Human rights campaigners are appealing for calm and restraint in Ethiopia, as the Oromo people celebrate the Irreecha harvest festival this weekend amid ongoing political divisions. “This year’s festival, on October 3 and 4, occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions and unrest in Oromia,” said Laetitia Bader, the Horn…
In Ethiopia, millions of Oromo celebrated Irreecha at the weekend, an annual thanksgiving festival that just two years ago was marred by violent protests and mass arrests of Oromo activists. The Ethiopian government claimed a death toll of 669 people, though that number was disputed by other observers. This year,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In Ethiopia, this year’s Irreecha festival brought peaceful but powerful protest as the Oromo people marked the anniversary of last year’s massacre at Bishoftu. More than 1.5 million people were expected to attend the annual thanksgiving celebration. Despite the rainy skies, they came; once there, the crowds chanted anti-government slogans…
A new letter signed by 39 members of the European Union Parliament asks for a full inquiry into human rights violations in Ethiopia, while calling into question the accuracy and impartiality of a controversial report completed by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in April. The letter to Federica Mogherini, High…
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said Tuesday that 669 people were killed in the waves of protests that began in 2015, the majority of them in the volatile Oromia region. Dr. Addisu Gebregziabher, head of the EHRC, said the numbers were based on investigations of incidents in Oromia, as…
Ethiopia will maintain its state of emergency for an additional four months, following a parliamentary vote Thursday that approved the extension. The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) said the measure passed unanimously after Ethiopian Defense Minister Siraj Fegessa made his case for additional time before lawmakers still concerned about unrest in…
Ethiopian officials have released 2,000 people detained during recent weeks of violent protests amid the nation’s current state of emergency. Minister of Defense Siraj Fegessa, speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, declined to say how many people in total had been picked up during mass arrests that followed the…
A group of United Nations human rights experts called Monday for Ethiopia to allow an international inquiry into the country’s detentions and violence against peaceful demonstrators. The U.N. appeal – for the second time this year – urged Ethiopian authorities, who placed the nation under a state of emergency over…
The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia said Wednesday that an American agricultural expert has died after a roadside attack on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. The AP reports the woman is the first foreign citizen to die in Ethiopia’s anti-government protests since they erupted in November 2015. The woman, whose name has not…