Ethiopia blames Egypt for forcing new state of emergency
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s government on Monday blamed Egypt for supporting outlawed rebels and forcing the declaration of the country’s first state of emergency in a quarter-century as widespread anti-government protests continue.
There is “ample evidence” that Egypt provided training and financing to the Oromo Liberation Front, labeled a terrorist organization by Ethiopia, government spokesman Getachew Reda told journalists in the capital, Addis Ababa. “We know for a fact that the terrorist group OLF is receiving all kinds of support from Egypt.”
Egypt last week denied any support for the Ethiopian rebels. The two countries have long been in a dispute over a massive hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River, with Egypt saying the project will reduce its share of the river’s flow.
The six-month state of emergency declared Sunday will be used to reorganize the security forces to better respond to the anti-government protests throughout much of the Oromia region, Getachew said.