Ethiopia: Hundreds protest ethnic violence in Jijiga

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Hundreds of Ethiopians demonstrated against violence that occurred last Saturday in which ethnic Somalis reportedly burned, looted and vandalized property belonging to ethnic Oromo and Amhara residents of the eastern town of Jijiga, capital of the Ethiopian Somali regional state.

The demonstration took place in front of the Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister's office in Addis Ababa. The demonstrators carried banners that read "Stop the killing in Jijiga".

In a statement issued on Monday, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church condemned the burning of churches and the killing of people in the city.

According to local sources from Jijjiga, scores of people have been killed in violence that brought the federal army and the regional "Liyu/special" police force at loggerheads. The Liyu unit was established to serve as a counterterrorism force but has been mired in controversy for its alleged involvement in the ethnic conflict between Oromos and Somalis, according to local media.

On Monday, an uneasy respite had returned to the restive city following the start of behind-the-curtain negotiations between the regional president Abdi Illey, an ethnic Somali, and federal authorities.

But later, the government, in a statement aired on national television, said the federal army had been given orders to control Jijiga.