9 Killed in Clashes in Ethiopia's Oromiya Region

Nine people have been killed today in clashes erupted between Ethiopian security forces and protesters demanding the release of an opposition politician and a media magnate, in the Oromiya region surrounding the capital.

Reuters quoted health officials saying that Harar region’s Hiwot Fana and Jegol hospitals admitted 32 people with gunshot wounds since Tuesday, most from Oromiya’s Aweday town.

The sources said that six of the wounded died and one was in critical condition at Hiwot Fana Hospital.

“They were shot in their head, chest and abdomen,” the doctor from Hiwot Fana Hospital said.

In Ciro, 320 km (200 miles) east of Addis Ababa, 30 people were taken to hospital, 25 of them with bullet wounds, a health official told Reuters. Two died on Tuesday and a third on Wednesday.

The protests broke out on Tuesday after a social media campaign aimed at the release of prominent Oromo opposition leader Bekele Gerba and media mogul Jawar Mohammed, both arrested days after the killing an iconic Oromo singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa.

The protests came after Jawar Mohammed who is a prime suspect of July’s violence announced his illness during a court hearing and demanded a personal doctor treat him. The Federal First Instance Court rejected the request.

The federal police and attorney general in a statement said Jawar is “safe and healthy” even though he interrupted Monday’s court proceeding, claiming he was sick.

Residents in Aweday town told Ezega.com that thousands of protesters took to the streets of the town shortly after they heard Jawar’s illness. They called for his release and immediate treatment.

The unrest highlights growing pisions in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Oromo power base as powerful ethnic activists who were once allies increasingly challenge his government.

Jawar was once a staunch supporter of Abiy now turned vocal critic, while Bekele is a leader of an opposition Oromo political party.

The singer’s death sparked protests in the capital Addis Ababa, last month, and spread to the surrounding Oromiya region, killing at least 178 people.

On its part, the state-run Ethiopian Human Rights Commission called for an investigation.

“Authorities should ensure that the right to peaceful protest can be exercised, and law enforcement measures against anything beyond that do not exceed proportion,” spokesman Aaron Maasho said in a statement.

Two days ago, Prime Minister Abiy replaced the defense minister, his former ally Lemma Megersa, as part of a reshuffle ahead of elections in the heavily pided nation next year.