Ethiopia declared a six-month long state of emergency across the whole country after month’s protests and violence.
Human right group fuelled the violence by saying more than 500 people have died in the unrest with government refuting this figure.
In a televised address on Sunday 9th October 2016, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the measure had been taken to protect citizens
“The cause of this (state of emergency) is that anti-peace forces in collaboration with foreign enemies of the country are making organized attempts to destabilize our country, to disrupt its peace and also to undermine the existence and security of its peoples.”
The divisions and violence has been plagued by two of the country’s largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara making 34.4% and 27% of the country’s population respectively.
The two ethnic groups have been complaining that power in Ethiopia is held by tiny Tigrean elite with 6.1% of the country’s population.
The protests also included attacks on businesses, many of them foreign-owned, including farms growing flowers for export.
Emergency decree did not include curfews. According Attorney General Getachew Ambaye said the decree would permit authorities to stop and search and also detain suspects without court authorization, as well as carry out house searches.
