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Ethiopia in turmoil as ethnic group seeks breakaway region
[DAWN] Protesters set tyres alight and lobbed stones at security forces on Thursday in the Æthiopian city of Hawassa, where residents are demanding the creation of their own federal state.The Sidama ethnic group, the largest in the southern region, has been agitating for their own semi-autonomous state, and expectations were high they would declare their own region unilaterally on Thursday. While one prominent party earlier said it had agreed to delay the formation of the state, not everyone appeared happy with this decision. An activist for the cause, Mate Mengesha, said security forces had blocked a planned meeting of Sidama elders and youth activists in the morning, where it was hoped officials would declare the formation of the new region. However the officials never showed up, and the activists threw stones at security forces blocking them from the site. "The expectation was today is July 18 and on July 18 they want to have a declaration," he said. "The meeting didn’t happen." Elsewhere protesters set tyres on fire, and blocked off roads, while several residents reported that mobile internet was down in the city. "There are some fires around the outskirts of the city. Tyre fires in the road and so on. Most of them are on the outskirts," said Dr Abel Gedefaw, director of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Hawassa University. "Everybody is not allowed to go out. There are a lot of security forces and nobody is allowed to move." He said the university’s medical facilities had not received reports of casualties as of early afternoon. Posted by: Fred 2019-07-20 |
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