ADDIS ABABA—Months of violent protests that sparked Ethiopia’s current state of emergency left at least 669 people dead but security forces used “proportionate measures” to counter the unrest, the government-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Tuesday. The protests that began in November 2015 and spread throughout the country demanding wider political freedoms posed a challenge to one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and a government accused by human rights groups of suppressing dissenting voices. But it also said security forces were not properly prepared for a protest that turned into a deadly stampede in October and sparked the state of emergency declaration. Lawmakers in March extended the six-month state of emergency for another four months. Human rights groups have accused Ethiopia’s government of carrying out extrajudicial killings during the protests and have urged independent investigations.

Source: thestar April 18, 2017 17:26 UTC