Residents said that businesses reopened, and traffic was back in urban centres of Ethiopia’s Amhara region on Wednesday after six days of violent protests over a planned shakeup of local forces. At least five people have died in the demonstrations, a fresh security challenge to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government following a two-year war in the neighbouring Tigray region which ended with a truce last November. Residents in Gondar, regional capital Bahir Dar and Debre Birhan, which bore the brunt of the protests, said shops, banks, and government offices were back open, with traffic flowing. “The city is now almost returned to normalcy,” said one inhabitant of Debre Birhan who did not wish to be named. Bekele Gebre, head of the health department in Debre Birhan, said authorities were still checking on protest casualties on Tuesday.

Source: Ethiopian News April 12, 2023 18:43 UTC