Deaths and mass arrests were reported with rights groups slamming the government over their handling of the peaceful protests. Following the Irreecha deaths, the government declared three-days of mourning for the deaths but a spike in attacks on government and private properties meant that something drastic had to be done. Mass arrests were to follow, thousands were detained under the Command Post managing the state of emergency. They were joined by rights groups and the United Nations, all of who called for independent probe into the deaths that resulted prior to the state of emergency declaration. In April this year, the parliament voted to extend the state of emergency for four months.

Source: Ethiopian News October 09, 2017 09:33 UTC