Security Forces Kill 140 At A Protest In Oromo, Ethiopia

About 140 people have been killed in Ethiopia's Oromo state after security forces launched an attack during anti-government protests.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Ethiopian forces killed at least 140 people and wounded many more in what "may be the biggest crisis to hit Ethiopia since the 2005 election violence." The rights group's new estimate is nearly twice the death toll it estimated last month.

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HRW disclosed this on Friday, January 8. The figures quoted by the organization are far beyond what the government has confirmed.

The government has only confirmed five deaths since the protests began in November.

Human Rights Watch spokesman Felix Horne said that Ethiopian forces are treating demonstrators and opposition politicians "with an iron fist," closing off ways that the protesters can express their grievances nonviolently. He called the development "a dangerous trajectory that could put Ethiopia's long-term stability at risk."

VOA reports that the protesters have been demonstrating over plans by the government to develop farmland outside the capital, Addis Ababa, into a new business zone. The protesters say the government plan will lead to a loss of autonomy and marginalization for Oromo people living on the outskirts of the capital.

On the other hand, the government argues that the plan to develop the farmland will bring new business and will benefit all groups.

Oromos are Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, comprising about 40 percent of the country's population.

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Opposition groups say the protesters are mostly students and farmers of the Oromo ethnic group, while the government describes them as "extremist Oromo groups" and "armed gangs."

Source: Legit.ng