July 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ethiopian authorities have imposed a night curfew on Wednesday in the city of Sheua Robit, in the Amhara region (north), after the head of the city’s Security Department was shot dead on Tuesday, amid the increase of security incidents in this area of the country in recent months.
The local Administration has indicated that the curfew will be in force from 6:00 p.m. (local time) and “for an indefinite period”, while stressing “many efforts have been made to guarantee peace and security”.
“Citizens can go out into the streets without fear,” he said, before adding that “there are attempts to make the city uninhabitable and cause a serious security problem,” as reported by the Ethiopian newspaper ‘Addis Standard’. For this reason, the authorities have asked the population to “help and support” the security forces.
The city, located some 220 kilometers north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, has been the scene of the assassination of several officials in recent months, including its mayor, Wubset Ayalew, shot dead on September 1, 2022. Subsequently, a local official was killed in November by unidentified persons.
The Amhara region has suffered an upturn in insecurity in recent months, amid tensions over the government’s decision to dissolve the regional special forces over the peace process with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF), signed in November 2022 in South Africa.
In this context, Girma Yeshitila, leader of the ruling Prosperity Party in the region, was shot dead in April. Girma had been precisely one of the central figures in the controversial decision regarding the Amhara special forces, which are especially powerful and sided with the Army in the war against the TPLF.
However, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, stressed that the decision “will be applied in line with the plans” and affirmed that it will be carried out “even if there is a price to pay”, after the Ethiopian General Staff assured that His proposal did not imply the disarmament or dissolution of these operations.
The proposal has been raised in line with the cessation of hostilities agreement signed with the TPLF and within the framework of the implementation of steps for peace, including the creation of an interim administration in Tigray headed by the spokesman for the Tigrinya group, Getachew Reda. In addition, Abiy has opened the door to talks with the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
