Hachalu Hundessa riots

Hachalu Hundessa riots
The Oromia Region in Ethiopia.
Location	Oromia Region, Ethiopia and vicinity Minnesota, United States
Date	29 June 2020 – present
Target	Non-Oromos, supporters of Abiy Ahmed, various religious groups
Attack type	Pogrom, looting, arson, mass murder
Deaths	166+
Perpetrators	Supporters of Jawar Mohammed and the Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy (Qeero)
Motive	Ethno-nationalist extremism

The Hachalu Hundessa riots are a wave of civil disturbance which swept Ethiopia, chiefly the Oromia Region, following the assassination of musician Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June 2020, leading to the deaths of at least 200 people.

Background

Hundessa was shot on the evening of 29 June 2020 at the Gelan Condominiums area in Addis Ababa. He was taken to the Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Thousands of mourners gathered at the hospital, as police used tear gas to disperse crowds and people set tires ablaze.

While protesters insisted he should be buried in Addis Ababa, his body was airlifted to Ambo in accordance with his family's wishes. The police arrested several suspects in connection with the murder. Hundessa had reported receiving death threats, including in the week prior to his death, when he gave an interview to the Oromia Media Network.

Events

Much of the violence has taken place in the same locales which had been hotspots in the last major series of clashes in October 2019. At demonstrations in Adama, nine protesters were killed. and another 75 were injured.

Oromo activists drew parallels with the George Floyd protests in the United States, although critics argued such claims were flawed and served as an alibi for ethnically-motivated violence. At 9 a.m., 30 June 2020, the internet was taken down for much of Ethiopia, a measure previously taken by the government during unrest and elections.

In Shashamane, violence was widespread, with unconfirmed eye-witness reports claiming that "all but 4 or 5 buildings" in the town center had been torched, and that the Rastafari community had been targeted due to its association with the Emperor Haile Selassie. Two people were shot to death in Chiro, while protesters in Harar toppled a statue of Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his condolences to Hundessa's family, urging calm amid growing unrest. Controversial media activist Jawar Mohammed responded to Hundessa's death on Facebook, saying "They did not just kill Hachalu. They shot at the heart of the Oromo Nation, once again!!...You can kill us, all of us, you can never ever stop us!! NEVER!!"

On 30 June 2020, Jawar and Bekele Gerba were arrested by Ethiopian Federal police after an incident between Jawar's guards and police that resulted in the death of a police officer. The incident happened when Jawar and his guards intercepted the transportation of remains belonging to Hachalu Hundessa to his home town of Ambo, which lies 100 km west of Addis Ababa. Jawar wanted to have the funeral in Addis Ababa, while Hachalu's parents and wife wanted to have the burial in Ambo. 35 people, including Jawar, were apprehended, along with eight Kalashnikovs, five pistols, and nine radio transmitters. Subsequently, former journalist-turned-politician Eskinder Nega was also arrested.

Demonstrations outside Ethiopia

Oromos held protests in Minneapolis and London, amongst other locations. On 30 June 2020, a statue of former Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie in Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon, south-west London, was destroyed by Oromo protestors. Right-wing journalist Steve Sailer commented that "Minnesota [had] become a major front in the incipient civil war brewing in Ethiopia."