Dozens dead during stampede in Ethiopia

Описание: (2 Oct 2016) Several dozen people died in a stampede Sunday morning when a religious celebration in Ethiopia turned into an anti-government protest that led police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets.
Crowds of people held up crossed wrists in a popular gesture of anti-government protest while rallyinf before the stampede.
The crossed-wrists gesture has been widely used as a sign of peaceful resistance and is meant to symbolise being handcuffed by security forces.
An estimated two million people were attending the annual Irrecha thanksgiving event in Bishoftu town southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.
The event took place in one of the country's most sensitive regions, Oromia, which has seen several months of sometimes deadly protests demanding wider freedoms.
Ethiopia's government acknowledged deaths during Sunday's event. Through a spokesman, it blamed "people that prepared to cause trouble."
The spokesman's office said many people were taken to hospitals.
It did not provide figures for deaths or injuries.
Ethiopia's government, a close security ally of the West, is often accused of silencing dissent, at times blocking internet access nationwide.


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