The Ethiopian government on Sunday stated more than 166 people killed during the anti-government protests in Addis Ababa and surrounding Oromia region.
Although the government initially said 80 people had been killed amid the two-day protests, according to a senior regional security official the death toll was at least double that.
ALSO READ: Military Deployed In Ethiopia After More Than 80 Killed In Protests
As of now, the senior regional security official states 145 civilians and 11 security personnel killed.
The large-scale protests erupted after a popular Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
Haacaaluu Hundeessaa belonged to the largest ethnic group of Ethiopia, the Oromos.
The killing resulted in nationwide ethnic unrest fuelled by years of government repression and the Oromo ethnic community’s narrative of historic exclusion from political power in the nation.
The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and other areas of protests enter their sixth day of internet shutdown and remain under guard by security forces.
Amnesty International has urged the Ethiopian government, led by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is Oromo, to bring Haacaaluu’s killers to justice.