Ethiopia restricts internet access amidst new protests

As crisis intensifies in Ethiopia, the government is putting in measures to avert worst case scenario by blocking all forms of communication that could be exploited to boost logistics of the ongoing carnage.

This was coming as the leadership’s federal forces of Ethiopia is been blamed for escalating unrest in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south.

Agency reports indicate that authorities in Ethiopia have restricted access to social media in the wake of renewed clashes that have led to over 20 deaths in the Oromia region.

Local news portal, Addis Standard, reported that access to regular internet was impossible in the affected areas which included the capital, Addis Ababa.

The online media said that the restriction “came amidst increasing reports of student protests in various university campuses against the killing of a student in Adigrat Univ & at least 15 civilians in Chelenko.

It is not the first time the country has resorted to internet cuts for political reasons. But the most recent case was in June this year, when access was cut during a national examination.

The recent protests have been blamed partly on federal forces and a paramilitary unit of the neighbouring Ethiopian-Somali regional state, the Liyu Police.

The government has in the past accused activists of abusing social media to spread inciting material that has often led to anti-government protests. The government in August this year lifted a state of emergency imposed in October 2016 to quell similar protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions.

Meanwhile, escalating protests led to the imposition of a six-month state of emergency in October 2016. It, however, lasted 10 months after the parliament voted an extension after the initial expiration in April this year. It was eventually lifted in August 2017.

Locals told the Addis Standard portal that a notorious paramilitary force – the Liyu Police was responsible and should be blamed for the death of the individual, for which reason they staged the protest.

The security forces were said to have applied superior force to dismantle road blocks in other parts of the region. Hospital staff in the city of Dire Dawa confirmed that a dozen other people had been treated for gunshot wounds.

Bonny Amadi with Agency Report