Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Afrigue en ligne) — Western diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa have sent out warning messages to their citizens in Ethiopia or those planning to travel there, as tension builds in the Horn of Africa country ahead of the 23 May polls.
The French Embassy, in an email sent to the country’s citizens Thursday Morning, advised them to avoid public places, public transportation systems and stay away from any demonstrations and public gatherings by Ethiopians.
The Embassy also warned the citizens to prepare stocks of food, water, electricity sources and fuel ahead of the polling day.
For those out of the capital, Addis Ababa, the Embassy has also announced a 24-hour-ready telephone service through which that they can contact the diplomatic mission in case of trouble.
Few days earlier, the U.S. Embassy had sent out a similar message to U.S. citizens in Ethiopia and those planning to travel to Addis in the coming weeks.
Amid fear of violence, tension is rising in Ethiopia ahead of the national elections, with accusations and counter-accusations of harassment and killings by the opposition and the government.
Already, violence has erupted among students in the countries major public universities.
Though government said a conflict last Saturday among Addis Ababa University students of the Oromo and Tigre ethnic groups was due to mobile phones theft, its spokesperson Wednesday admitted that it later took an ethnic dimension and blamed it on two opposition parties under the largest opposition coalition, Medrek.
‘Starting points might be the mobiles,’ Bereket Simon, chief of Government Communication Affairs Office, said Wednesday. ‘But hard core supporters of Arena and OPC trying to rally each other have had their hands adding fuel to the fire’.
Reports indicate that conflicts have expanded to Haromaya and Mekele ” public universities in the hearts of Oromia and Tigray regions, home to Arena and OPC, respectively â” but Bereket said he was not aware of such incidents.
Government said on Saturday a grenade thrown into a meeting of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO), part of the ruling coalition, killed two and injured 14.
On Sunday, a policeman was stabbed to death by OPC members following an order by an officer of the party, government alleged. On Monday, the ruling party accused opposition members of killing one of its candidates.
The coalition of eight opposition parties, Medrek, said three of its members have been killed since campaigning began over two months ago.
Medrek is fielding the second-highest number of candidates after the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Front (EPRDF).
A 24 March Human Rights Watch reports accused Ethiopian government of waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists and rights activists ahead of the elections.
In the midst of the growing tension, however, government said its security forces would not use live ammunition or lethal weapons if violence occur during the elections.
Though it said it expected peaceful elections this time, the government has also warned that the police are prepared to handle any outbreak of violence ‘professionally’.