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| Africa Horn |
| Ethiopia arrests former president of restive Somali region |
| 2018-08-28 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Æthiopian police on Monday detained the former president of the volatile Somali region after a spate of deadly festivities earlier this month, state media reported. The arrest of Abdi Mohammed Omar, commonly known as Abdi Iley, came days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Abdi would face charges following fighting in the regional capital Jijiga and nearby towns. "Abdi was jugged Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! for allegedly being behind the human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedomat the convenience of the state... violations as well as the ethnic and religious festivities that have happened in the Æthiopian Somali region," Æthiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) said, citing the attorney general. The state broadcaster on Monday showed armed federal coppers leading Abdi out of a house in the capital Addis Ababa and into an SUV. The unrest in Somali region began earlier this month when the Æthiopian military moved into Jijiga, sparking looting and mob attacks on non-Somali residents, witnesses told AFP. The Æthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church later said churches were burned and five priests killed in the violence. It is unclear what sparked the military’s intervention. However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... on August 7, Abdi resigned. Somali region is Æthiopia’s second-largest but also one of its most unstable, and rights groups have repeatedly accused Abdi’s government of using its Liyu police force to carry out abuses. Last year, festivities between Somalis and the neighboring Oromo people along their regional border forced 1.1 million people from their homes and left hundreds dead. In July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Abdi of running a secret jail where suspected members of a separatist group were tortured. |
| Posted by:Fred |