This is only the latest in a series of brutal incidents reflecting the escalation of violence that the country has been experiencing in the last year. The wave of protests was initially sparked by the government’s development plan into the Oromia region, a drawback for local farmers. Despite the plan being withdrawn, the concerns of the Oromo community, the country’s largest ethnic group, continued and extended to issues of political and economic marginalization. The situation got worse due to several occurrences of arbitrary arrests and the excessive use of force against largely peaceful protests.
Back in June this year, Human Rights Watch had published a report based on more than 125 interviews with witnesses, victims and government officials. The report condemns the brutal responses and outright human rights abuse of the security forces, which include rape, torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Access to education is currently disrupted due to the arrest of a number of students and staff or simply because students are afraid to go to class. Besides this, the government has restricted media freedom and access to information in Oromia. Human Rights Watch has urged the international community to provide a strong and united response.
To know more, read:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-protests-idUSKCN12208I
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37534387
https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/ethiopia0616web.pdf
