Olympic champ Gebresellasie blames Facbook for violent protests in Ethiopia which have claimed 78 lives

The violence in Ethiopia in the Oromo and Oromia regions in Ethiopia which has thus far claimed no fewer than 78 lives has been blamed on Facebook.

The blame of the bloody violence was heaped on social media giants by double Olympic champion and Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie.

Speaking with the BBC, he said that fake news shared on Facebook was behind violence in which 78 people died.

Gebrselassie said he could sue Facebook if they fail to remove certain posts.

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The double Olympic champion was not explicit about which posts he was referring to, but told the BBC in the capital Addis Ababa that “fake news is easy to spread”.

Referring to the death toll, the 46-year-old added that “the main cause I believe was Facebook“.

The violence in Ethiopia was sparked when an influential activist from the Oromo ethnic group, Jawar Mohammed said the authorities were endangering his life by removing his bodyguards.

According to an earlier statement by the government of Ethiopia, the violence was triggered by ethnic and religious elements

No fewer than 400 people have also been arrested by security forces in connection with the killings and destruction of property which hit parts of the country last week especially in the Oromo and Oromia regions of the country.

The violence in Oromia and Oromo regions is a deeply worrying reminder of just how volatile the country is with fresh general elections due for next year.

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