Ethiopia Arrested over 11,000 Since State of Emergency Declared

Politics News

Inquiry Board established to look into the conduct of the marshal law in Ethiopia revealed that 11, 607 people were detained in several facilities.

state of emergency
Giant Prison. The State of Emergency Inquiry Board of Ethiopia announced that 11, 607 people had been detained following the violence occurred in various parts of the country. Opposition members disputes the figure.

By ESAT News,

A board entrusted with overseeing the martial law declared by the repressive regime in Ethiopia says over 11,000 people were arrested since the state of emergency was declared in early October, according to the state media.

But opposition political parties say the figure is much higher than what the government bodies report. Dr. Merara Gudina, who gave his testimony at the European parliament on Wednesday put the number of arrested at 60,000.



The statement by the government says a total of 11,607 people have been detained at six detention centers across the country. The detainees were accused of inciting violence, destroying government properties and carrying flags of political parties outlawed by the regime as terrorist groups.

Dr. Gudina reported at a European Parliament hearing that at least 1500 people were killed in the last one year of protests by security forces while 60,000 were detained without due process of law.

He also reported that up to 600 people lost their lives at the Ireecha religious festival in October when regime forces fired shots and used teargas at the millions of party goers resulting in deadly stampede.

Ethiopian regime officials insist only 55 people lost their lives at the festival.

Ethiopia is hit by a wave of deadly protests against a repressive regime for the last one year resulting in the death of hundreds of people in the hands of security forces.

In a frantic reaction to the protest, the regime declared a state of emergency last month and shutdown the Internet.


Amhara Fighters in Gonder Destroy TPLF Forces Sent to Disarm Community

By Ethiomedia,

Over 50 government soldiers were captured and a greater number killed in Wegera district of northern Gonder during a pitched battle that began in the afternoon of November 9 and went on throughout the night, a reporter said.

According to journalist Muluken Tesfaw, the army that was sent to the area to disarm the farmers was routed after the farmers engaged the soldiers.

“The 50 soldiers were captured with all their weapons,” the reporter said. “Two heavy machine guns, a sniper and a few military radios were also seized.”



One of the combatants said at least 20 soldiers were killed before dusk set in, and he believed a greater number were killed during the night battle.

The farmers didn’t say how many were killed from their side but identified by name one of their fighters who was killed in a heroic feat that enabled him to kill some of the government forces.

For months, the Amhara region has been at war with the TPLF regime, which last month declared a state of emergency to crush public uprisings. Thousands are believed to have been killed in the restive Oromia region as well in Amhara, where in the case of the latter armed peasants have proven to be a bone in the throat of the TPLF government.

Cases of armed conflicts between the Amhara combatants and TPLF forces usually remain unreported due to the news blackout that the regime has enforced via the State of Emergency and other factors like inaccessibility of the remote areas.

Fund-raising events have been reported in the Ethiopian Diaspora, particularly in North America, to help fund peasant families who have vowed to engage the regime until its downfall and bear the brunt of an armed conflict.

Fiercely proud of their Ethiopian heritage, the Amhara have long been the target of TPLF, whose ethnic federalism is deliberately in place to make sure either it rules the country indefinitely or, in the event of its downfall, it abandons Ethiopia to ethnic fragmentation.