Taje Demeke, former chairwoman of the Gurage Zone Council and others arrested in the recent crackdown (Pictures: Social Media)By Biruk Alemu @Birukalemu21 Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe! Addis Abeba – Residents of the restive Gurage zone in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) told Addis Standard that security forces have intensified arrests including on senior government officials, the youth and activists since Tuesday. The Gurage Zone Council had from the get go opposed to the restructuring as it was seeking its own regional state status, which it tabled as far back as November 2018. On 15 February, security forces killed six people in Wolkite city, while more than 15 were seriously injured after security forces opened fire on protesters who were demonstrating against lack of fresh water, carrying empty jerry cans. According to Seid, Taje Demeke, who was the chairman of the Gurage Zone Council, and dismissed for rejecting the clustering of the zone into a new region, is seven months pregnant, and detained illegally.

Source: Ethiopian News March 04, 2023 20:08 UTC