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WORLD NEWS Monday 5 october 2020

Tight security, many arrests for Ethiopian Irreecha festival

By ELIAS MESERET of planning to carry out ter-
Associated Press ror attacks and cause un-
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — rest at the celebrations in
Ethiopia's largest ethnic Addis Ababa and nearby
group, the Oromo, on Sat- Bishoftu, adding that 10 Ka-
urday celebrated the an- lashnikovs were seized.
nual Thanksgiving festival of People travelling to the
Irreecha amid tight security capital from other regions
and a significantly smaller were banned from entering
crowd due to political ten- the city, multiple sources
sions and the COVID-19 told The Associated Press.
pandemic. Officials said they were
Hundreds of people were carrying out strict security
arrested ahead of the fes- checks but did not confirm
tival, some accused by the ban.
authorities of plotting terror Notably, people carrying
attacks and a new wave of the Oromo Liberation Front
unrest. and Oromo Federalist Con-
Wearing face masks and gress party flags were ab-
white clothes stitched with sent in this year's festival.
the colors of the Oromia re- Some of the parties' leaders
gion's flag, people in down- are behind bars for alleged
town Addis Ababa were Ethiopians celebrate the festival of Irreecha to thank God for the blessings of the past year and involvement in the deadly
to wish prosperity for the coming year, amid tight security in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
subjected to at least six Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. unrest that followed the
security checks complete Associated Press killing of popular Oromo
with body searches and, in singer Hachalu Hundessa in
some areas, sniffer dogs. his first name, fearing for of people, but only a few festival, the Oromia police June. On Friday, an Ethiopi-
"I don't know the kind of his safety. "Added with the thousand were allowed to commission said Thursday. an court charged four peo-
information they have but COVID-19, it really has ru- attend this year. On the same day, the Na- ple suspected in the killing,
these security checks are ined the festive mood." More than 500 people tional Intelligence and Se- which led to turmoil that
too much," said Hassen, a The festival usually attracts were arrested on suspicion curity Service said it had saw more than 180 people
participant who gave only hundreds of thousands of plotting to disrupt the arrested people suspected and thousands arrested. q