NAIROBI (Somaliguardian) – Anti-government protests in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray have claimed the lives of a number of people last week as clashes still continue in the region.
At least 28 people were killed since the protests erupted last week in the region’s highland capital of Mekelle, the Nation reported.
“Five died in Mekelle, 17 in neighboring Wukiro town. Federal forces are using live bullets to quell the protests,” said a medical worker speaking to the Nation, who declined to be named over security concerns.
“Dozens were injured and many more were arrested” he told the Nation adding: “young protesters who were throwing stones at security forces had been shot dead”
Residents in the town say the protests and government crackdown on locals has made life more difficult, adding tinder to an already appalling humanitarian situation.
“There is little or no human activity in the past few days. Shops and private facilities were closed. There is no transportation in the city,” said the medical worker, also a resident of Mekelle.
The report comes weeks after Ethiopian and Eritrean forces began final offensive against forces of the region’s former ruling party, the TPLF and amid reports of widespread looting and rape crimes in Tigray region.
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