This archive report was first published on 19 July 2019.
Published on July 19, 2019
At least three people have died in Ethiopia's southern city of Hawassa, hospital authorities said, amid a tense standoff between state security forces and local activists seeking to declare a new Sidama region.
The threat of large-scale violence in Hawassa city centre was averted on Thursday after a Sidama opposition party agreed to delay declaring their own region and accept a government offer to hold a referendum in five months.
The decision was a direct challenge to the authority of the Ethiopian federal government, which oversees nine regions in the nation of 105 million people.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, appointed by the ruling coalition last year, has been widely praised for political reforms in what was once one of the continent's most repressive nations.
However, many Ethiopian activists are now using their greater freedoms to demand more rights, sometimes for their own ethnic groups.
At least eight other ethnic groups beside the Sidama also want their own regions, sparking tensions that sometimes lead to violence.
Local police told Fana Broadcasting that relative peace prevailed in Hawassa and nearby areas, and they are working to restore peace in areas affected by the violence.
“Efforts are underway to put under control the violence which started in Hawassa and later spread to the neighboring Sidama woredas (district),” regional state Police Commissioner Tewodros Woldemichael said.
Police arrested individuals who took part in the violence that resulted in loss of life and properties, according to Fana.
Hawassa Referral Hospital has received 12 injured civilians in the last two days, three of whom died, said general manager Zinaw Serniso.
Some had fractured bones after being hit with batons, while others had been shot, he said.
One man shot in the head died on Thursday, and two more shot in the leg and abdomen died on their way to the hospital on Friday, he said.
