2016 Ethiopian protests

2016 Ethiopian protests
Date	5 August 2016 – present (5 months, 2 weeks and 4 days)
Location	Amhara Region, Gondar, Addis Ababa,Bahir Dar,Oromia Region, north-western and southern regions Ambo, Dembi Dolo, and Nekemt
Causes	Hundreds of killings and thousands of arrests in recent months by police Human rights abuses (detention of opposition demonstrators)Oromia Region Official status dispute over Wolqayt Unfair distribution of wealth Political marginalization Land seizures by the Ethiopian government
Goals
Methods	Protests Demonstrations
Status	At least 90 shot and killed by police (as of 8 August)– 500 (claimed by Human Rights Watch) Thousands of protesters attacked and/or arrested by police Suspected jailbreak attempt at Kaliti Prison resulting in at least 23 deaths Human stampede resulting from police confrontation results in the deaths of 52-300 people Six-month state of emergency declared in October
Parties to the civil conflict
General public protesters Government of Ethiopia
Lead figures
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
Casualties
Death(s)	500+ (as of October 2016)
Detained	1,000

Protests erupted in Ethiopia on 5 August 2016 following calls by opposition groups. Protesters demanded social and political reforms including an end to human rights abuses (including government killings of civilians, mass arrests, government land seizures, and political marginalization of opposition groups). The government responded by restricting access to the Internet and attacking as well as arresting protesters.

In the three days leading up to 8 August, Reuters reported that at least 90 protesters had been shot and killed by Ethiopian security forces, marking the most violent crackdown against protesters in sub-Saharan Africa since at least 75 people were killed during protests in Ethiopia's Oromia Region in November and December 2015.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 500 people are estimated to have been killed as of October 2016.

Ethiopia has been governed by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front since they captured the capital and ended the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991. Members of the Tigrayan ethnic group constitute a minority of Ethiopia's population. However members of this ethnic group dominate the senior positions in the country's military and political system while the majority of Amhara and Oromo people are marginalized.

The country has been experiencing rapid economic growth since the 2000s and is one of the world's fastest-growing economies and is Africa’s second most populous country.

Prior episodes of mass killings by the Ethiopian government include the 2005 Ethiopian police massacres when hundreds of protesters were killed by police and the November and December 2015 protests in the Oromia Region that resulted in the killings of over 100 people by government forces. The 2015 protests were later followed by a police crackdown and the arrests of hundreds of opposition members.