Ethiopian Arrests Heighten To Ensure Security

The country is under a six-month state of emergency declared to contain the unprecedented anti-government protests.

The Ethiopian government has stepped up crack down measures to counter the increasing anti-government protests by embarking on arrests. ECADF, Ethiopian News and View cited government sources as saying that 1,600 people have been detained under the state of emergency. The number comes to add to the arrest of 1,000 people near the capital, Addis Ababa on Monday, October 17, 2016.

The state of emergency was declared on October 9, 2016 a week after at least 55 people died in a stampede during an Oromo religious festival which turned into a protest. Reports say under the emergency measures, people can be detained without an arrest warrant for the duration of the state of emergency. The arrests reportedly took place in at least five places, including in Shashamene, 250km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, where 450 people were detained. Those arrested, are said to be “suspects in the recent violence” and a large number of looted...