Stampede and tear gas in Ethiopia as religious ceremony descends into chaos

The event quickly degenerated after some participants crossed their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of Oromo anti-government protests.

Demonstrators show the Oromo protest gesture sign during Irreecha, the thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people in Bishoftu town of Oromia region, Ethiopia on October 2, 2016. Police fired tear gas aShow more

BISHOFTU, ETHIOPIA // Dozens of people were crushed to death in a stampede on Sunday after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a massive religious festival, witnesses said.

An estimated two million people were attending the annual Irrecha thanksgiving event in Bishoftu town south-east of the capital, Addis Ababa. The event took place in one of the East African country’s most sensitive regions, Oromia, which has seen several months of sometimes deadly protests demanding wider freedoms.

Ethiopia’s government acknowledged there had been “loss of lives” during the event, blaming “people that prepared to cause trouble”. Many people were taken to hospitals, a government spokesman said without providing figures for deaths or injuries.

Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, said there had been many fatalities.

“Bodies are being collected by the government. But what I hear from people on the ground is that the number of dead is more than one hundred,” said Mr Gudina.

It was not possible to obtain independent verification of the number of fatalities after the ceremony at a sacred lake in the town of Bishoftu.

Witnesses said the crush began as protesters chanted anti-government slogans and pushed toward a stage where religious leaders were speaking. Some threw rocks and plastic bottles and police responded by using tear gas and firing rubber bullets.

People tried to flee, but some were crushed in nearby ditches, witnesses said.

Before the stampede, small groups of people were seen walking among the massive crowd were holding up crossed wrists in a popular gesture of anti-government protest. Police fired tear gas in resonse.

The crossed-wrists gesture has been widely used as a sign of peaceful resistance and is meant to symbolise being handcuffed by security forces.

The gesture was in the spotlight at the Rio Olympics, when Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa, who is from the Oromia region, crossed his wrists while finishing in second place. He has not returned to the country since, saying his life could be in danger.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse