Ethiopia blames foreign groups for violence

This photo, taken on October 2, 2016, shows the residents of Bishoftu symbolically crossing their wrists above their heads during an anti-government protest in Ethiopia. (By AFP)

The Ethiopian government has accused elements based in other countries of stoking violence in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian government spokesman Getachew Reda told reporters on Monday that elements causing the recent violence in the country were being armed, trained and funded by groups in Eritrea, Egypt and other states.

The Ethiopian government on Sunday declared a nationwide state of emergency following days of riots and protests.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has denounced the violence, saying the unrest “put the integrity of the nation at risk.”

Reda, the government spokesman said, however, “We have to be very careful not to necessarily blame one government or another. There are all kinds of elements in the Egyptian political establishment which may or may not necessarily be directly linked with the Egyptian government.”

Egypt has dismissed previous accusations that it was meddling in Ethiopian affairs.

Eritrea routinely dismisses charges that it wants to destabilize Ethiopia, and instead accuses Addis Ababa of stoking unrest on its own soil.

Rights groups say more than 500 people have died in clashes with police and other confrontations in Ethiopia in the recent past.

The violence has also damaged around a dozen factories as well as equipment mostly belonging to foreign firms, accused by protesters of purchasing leases for seized land.

Source: Press Tv