http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Ethiopia-shuts-internet-amid-growing-protests/2558-3405910-ed64th/index.html
Ethiopia shuts internet amid growing protests
By BBC
Posted Wednesday, October 5 2016 at 13:54
The internet has been shut down in Ethiopia, amid growing protests against the government.
No official reason has been given for the closure.
The internet has been blocked before during previous protests, with the government accusing opposition activists in the diaspora of using Facebook and Twitter to organise protests in the country.
At least 55 people died in a stampede at a religious festival in the volatile Oromia region on Sunday after people starting demanding political freedoms.
Opposition groups accused security forces of opening fire, causing the stampede.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn denied the allegation, saying rioters had caused "pre-planned mayhem" that led people to fall to their deaths in ravines.
Last night, anti-government demonstrations took place on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, last night.
The signs of the protests in the areas of Alem Gena and Sebeta were visible this morning - access roads were blocked by stones and a truck was smouldering after being torched last night.
Many people were walking to work or trying to get rides on the few vehicles that were still on the road.
There is a heavy presence of police in riot gear patrolling the areas, which are part of the Oromia region hit by anti-government protests since November 2015.
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Ethiopia partially lifts internet shutdown amid protest tension
By Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban
Reports indicate that internet has been blocked in Ethiopia. The country have in the past three days suffered protests after a deadly stampede over the weekend.
Ethiopia is no stranger to internet cuts, specific social media platforms were first in July as the government’s measure of preventing leakage of examination.
Subsequently, protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions resulted in internet cuts. Most of the anti-government protests are seen to have been organized especially through social media.
The current internet disruption is believed to be connected with the protests arising from the stampede on Sunday during a thanksgiving festival – Ireccha – in Oromia region.
Some users are however confirming in the afternoon of Wednesday that the government has partially lifted the outage. They say access to fixed line internet service has resumed but mobile internet remains blocked.
Ethiopia filters internet regularly using firewalls which often slows network access. Problems of accessing social networking sites had been reported in some localities of the Oromo region during the anti-government protests, but blocking all sites nationwide is unprecedented in the country.
The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution months back considering the restrictions of internet access as a violation of human rights. This was a few days after the election of Ethiopia as a non-permanent member of the UN security Council for a two year term.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/10/05/ethiopia-partially-lifts-internet-shutdown-amid-protest-tension/
Received on Wed Oct 05 2016 - 10:19:52 EDT