State of emergency declared in Ethiopia

Ethiopian officials declared a state of emergency yesterday amid widespread anti-government protests that have persisted for more than two years and in which hundreds have been killed and several thousand detained. It is Ethiopia’s second state of emergency in two years and comes a day after the prime minister resigned.

The Council of Ministers said they called the emergency because the protests have caused injuries and the loss of lives, the displacement of citizens, the destruction of properties, attacks based on ethnic lines and threats against the constitutional order of the country. The statement did not say how long the emergency will be in effect. On Thursday Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced his resignation.