Ethiopia Stampede Kills Dozens at Religious Event Police use tear gas, rubber bullets to disperse crowd, causing stampede
http://www.wsj.com/articles/ethiopia-stampede-kills-dozens-at-religious-event-1475416350
BISHOFTU, Ethiopia—Several dozen people died in a stampede Sunday morning when a religious celebration in Ethiopia turned into an antigovernment protest that led police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets.
Witnesses said people were crushed in nearby ditches as they tried to flee the chaos.
An estimated two million people were attending the annual Irrecha thanksgiving event in Bishoftu town southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. The event took place in one of the country’s most sensitive regions, Oromia, which has seen several months of sometimes deadly protests demanding wider freedoms.
Ethiopia’s government acknowledged deaths during Sunday’s event. Through a spokesman, it blamed “people that prepared to cause trouble.” The spokesman’s office said many people were taken to hospitals. It didn’t provide figures for deaths or injuries.
Witnesses said the crush began as protesters chanted antigovernment slogans and pushed toward a stage where religious leaders were speaking. Some threw rocks and plastic bottles. Police responded by using tear gas and firing rubber bullets. People tried to flee.
Before the stampede, an Associated Press reporter saw a crowd of people holding up crossed wrists in a popular gesture of antigovernment protest. The reporter also saw police firing tear gas and, later, several injured people.
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