Ethiopia restores internet after shutdown

Internet services have been restored in parts of Ethiopia two weeks after violent protests broke out following the killing of popular Oromo singer Hachalu Hundesa in the capital, Addis Ababa.

People can now access wi-fi and broadband connections.

The authorities defended the shutdown - the longest the country has experienced since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018 - saying it was being used to fan inter-ethnic violence.

According to the authorities, trouble started after young people from the Oromia region insisted on diverting a procession escorting Hachalu's body from Addis Ababa to his hometown of Ambo for burial. They wanted him to be buried in the capital.

The authorities say more than 200 people were killed in the clashes, including some security officers. At least 5,000 people were arrested.

The ethnic-based attacks were brutal and horrific, according to a report by the Mail and Guardian.

A foreign journalist based in Ethiopia has shared a video showing the destruction wrought by the violence in Shashamene, a town in Oromia 250km (155 miles) south of Addis Ababa:

Internet back (for those of us with broadband/landline connection). Here is footage from yesterday in Shashamene. Most of the city centre looks like this. #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/wDosPCcp3b

— Tom Gardner (@TomGardner18) July 14, 2020