Ethiopia’s Federal Intelligence and Security Task Force on Saturday announced that it has arrested 280 suspects in connection with the recent violence which left at least 20 people dead in Gondar town of northern part of the horn African nation.
The Taskforce depicted the arrest as part of a move to take measures against those whom it described “as working to help anti-Ethiopian forces” under the cover of the religion.
Suspects were, according to the Task Force, involved in the violence and attempted to aggravate it and there were plans to launch an attack targeting religious institutions and individuals with the aim to broaden the scope of the violence
It said, in a statement sent to state-affiliated media, there have been moves to instigate religious violence in different parts of the country with the pretext of the incident that happened in a funeral place in the central Gondar zone that involved Christians and Muslims. The goal was to cater to the interests of ant-Ethiopian forces.
“Those forces whose attempt to bring about a crisis failed due to the age-old shared values have been playing religion as a playing card in order to incite discord that could lead to violence between followers of different faith groups,” the task force claimed.
Furthermore, it said that anti-Ethiopian forces, internal and external, had attempted to instigate ethnic-based hate and spread it to plunge the country into crisis.
The task force is also claiming to have adequate information about those who are working from behind, including those who are using social media vying for more violence in many other parts of Ethiopia, and that it will continue to take measures.
The statement also recalled that there is a legal provision to hold those who are spreading false information on social media responsible.
MG/abj/APA