Clashes briefly opposed Monday, May 2 in the heart of Addis Ababa of young Ethiopian Muslims to the police who used tear gas, on the sidelines of a collective prayer of Eid-el-Fitr which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, according to AFP journalists.
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The circumstances that triggered the incidents are unclear at the moment, with a Muslim official saying a policeman accidentally fired a tear gas canister at worshipers gathered for prayers in central Addis Ababa.
"
A riot caused by a few individuals (...) during the Eid prayer
" "
caused material damage
", for its part simply indicated the police of Addis Ababa in a press release, affirming that the calm has been restored.
She adds that she "
will later inform the public about the origins of the riot
".
“The situation has gotten out of control”
The incidents began near the international stadium in Addis Ababa, inside which the prayer was organized.
The stadium being full, those who could not access prayed outside, especially in the large nearby Meskel Square, in the heart of the Ethiopian capital.
"
We do not have clear information
" on the origin of the incidents, told AFP an official of the High Council for Islamic Affairs in Addis Ababa, who requested anonymity.
"
It appears that a policeman fired a tear gas (grenade)
" in an "
unintentional way
" into the crowd of worshipers gathered for prayer in Meskel Square, he said, citing the testimony of volunteers framing the prayer .
The policeman was taken away by his colleagues, but "
people were shocked and started chanting
" and "
the situation got out of hand
", he added.
AFP journalists saw youths throwing stones at police near Meskel Square.
Some chanted “
Justice for Gondar
” or “
Don't burn our mosques, don't kill ours
”.
Gondar is a city in the Amhara region (northwest) where, according to Muslim officials, at least 20 people were killed in late April in violence against Muslims which they attributed to "
Christian extremists
".
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Monday in Addis Ababa, demonstrators notably destroyed with stones the windows of a national museum located on Meskel Square, according to AFP journalists who indicated that calm had then been restored.
"
This is the first time
" that the collective Eid prayer in the capital has been the scene of incidents, said the member of the Council for Islamic Affairs, stressing that it has been organized since the fall of the military-Marxist regime of the Derg in 1991. "
Muslims are peaceful and organized
", they want to "
spend this holiday in peace
", he explained.
A predominantly Christian country (the most numerous being the Orthodox), Ethiopia has about 30% Muslims.