Deadly stampede triggered by police at Ethiopian religious festival

Police response to an Oromo ethnic group protest at the annual Irreecha religious festival in Ethiopia caused a stampede to break out Sunday, killing an unknown number of people. After the protesters began marching and chanting, police reportedly sprayed tear gas into the crowd, triggering the stampede.

Though the Ethiopian government has stated "lives were lost and several of the injured were taken to hospital," no official death toll has been released, and eyewitness estimates range from 15 to 300 dead. One Oromo activist claimed the security forces also opened fire on the crowd, but that allegation has not been independently confirmed.

The Oromo are Ethiopia's largest ethnic group and are demanding more proportional representation in government, which is currently dominated by the minority Tigray ethnic group. According to Human Rights Watch, about 500 people have been killed by police at Oromo demonstrations since they began in November of 2015.

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