Ethiopia: Two dead in protests against the destruction of mosques

Two people were killed Friday in Addis Ababa during a demonstration against the destruction of mosques as part of a megacity project around the Ethiopian capital, a media close to the government said, citing the police.

Incidents erupted outside the al-Awar mosque in northern Addis Ababa after Muslim worshipers took to the streets after Friday prayers. “Two people injured during unrest in an area known as Gas Tera have been reported to have died after being taken to hospital for treatment,” state media FanaBC wrote on its website. According to police quoted by FanaBC, four protesters and 52 police officers were injured.

A witness present at the al-Anouar mosque told AFP that worshipers launched slogans hostile to the project of a large urban center called Sheger City and to the government. “After our Friday prayers, people started shouting to stop destroying our mosques,” he said, requesting anonymity. “Large security forces arrived which infuriated people when they reached the gates of al-Awar mosque. People threw rocks and shoes at them and after that they (the police) started firing tear gas and bullets in the air,” he continued.

Critics denounce discriminatory operations

The capital’s High Council for Islamic Affairs has called for prosecution after the security forces’ “unconstitutional and inhumane response” against Muslims “peacefully defending their rights”. The federal authorities and the Oromia region launched last year a controversial project called Sheger City, planning to merge six localities enclosing the capital in a vast western arc.

In this context, the authorities have been destroying many buildings, houses and also mosques for several months, which they consider to have been built illegally.

Critics of the project denounce these discriminatory operations carried out, according to them, mainly on ethnic criteria (against populations not from the Oromo ethnic group) and religion (targeting mosques). Ethiopia is predominantly Christian, and more specifically Orthodox, but about a third of the country is dominated by Muslims.

AFP

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