“My uncle was cut to pieces on the street. His son is in a coma: they hit him in the head with a blade.”
Hundreds of people have been killed in Ethiopia, buildings have gone up in flames and many have lost their livelihood. The chaos happened during two weeks of violent protests which were sparked by the murder of popular musician and activist Hachalu Hundessa, who often spoke up for the rights of his ethnic Oromo group. Details of the violent demonstrations were mostly suppressed for two weeks while government officials blocked online access throughout Ethiopia, saying the internet would be used to incite more violence.
But the graphic details and images quickly emerged after the country unlocked the internet on Monday. Here are some of the details that have been reported:
Via Zecharias Zelalem for Mali&Guardian
- A total of at least 239 people have been killed in Ethiopia during the protests.
- Dereje Feleke, a resident of Dera, said hundreds of young Oromo men used clubs and machetes to attack ethnic minorities in his city. Feleke said his 28-year-old son was dragged outside, stabbed multiple times and beheaded. But the grieving father escaped with the help of neighbors.
- Dera’s Medhanealem Church is sheltering about 50 people who lost their homes in the violence.
- Ethnic Amhara residents reportedly escaped to the homes of their Oromo neighbors for protection as the killers went from house to house.
- Residents said the regional Oromia Special Police Force in Dera did not intervene to stop the chaos.
- Dera residents have been bringing food and clothing to the displaced people at the church.
- Two of the three suspects in Hachalu’s murder have been arrested.
Quotes
“They were merciless: they killed my son in the most disgusting way possible. My son died the worst kind of death — even criminals don’t deserve this sort of cruelty,” — Dereje Feleke, Dera resident.
“My uncle was cut to pieces on the street. His son is in a coma: they hit him in the head with a blade,” Hewan, Dera resident.
“We lost my father when I was young, so Aman became an older brother and a father to me. Now I have to become a father figure for his four children because the military murdered their father.” — Shubee, brother of 43-year-old victim Aman Dube Ganamo.
“The man who pulled the trigger is named Tilahun Yami; he has admitted to doing so while in our custody. Abdi Alemayehu is the name of his accomplice,” Ethiopia’s attorney general, Adanech Abiebie, talking about the suspects in the murder of Hachalu.
Read full story by Zecharias Zelalem here.
Social Media Feed
One Instagram user, who identifies herself as a Russian traveler, posted a video of the chaos she witnessed in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Shashamene is believed to be the city which saw the most severe damage during the protests. Video posted to Twitter showed rows of buildings burned down in Shashamene.
Cover photo shows devastation in Shashemene, via Tom Gardner on Twitter.