International

Ethiopia set to probe killing of hundreds of protesters

Published

8 years ago

August 21, 2016

Authorities in Ethiopia say a probe into the killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces during anti-government demonstrations will soon begin but also denied that police brutality in the country was “systematic”.

“I have to reiterate once again this is not systemic,” government spokesperson Getachew Reda told Al Jazeera.

“There are cases of off-grid police officers who sometimes take the law into their own hands,” he said.

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“The government takes such allegations very seriously.” He added.

According to statistics released by Human Rights Watch, about 500 people have been killed and thousands others arrested and detained by Ethiopian security forces since demonstrations began.

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