Oromia: Three days of mourning after 52 die in Ethiopia

Security forces said they were responding to protesters throwing bottles and stones
Ethiopia has begun three days of mourning after at least 52 people were killed during a protest at a religious festival in the Oromia region.

Some died in a stampede on Sunday after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said rioters had caused "pre-planned mayhem" that led people to fall to their deaths in ravines.

He denied reports that the security forces had opened fire.

In a national address on state TV, he praised their "great efforts" to protect the public and blamed "evil forces" for the deaths, vowing to bring to justice those responsible.stival in Bishoftu, 40km (25 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.

The annual Irecha celebrations are an important festival by the people of Oromo in welcoming spring.

But crowds at the festival chanted "We need freedom" and "We need justice", witnesses said.
'Fell from a cliff'

Some participants crossed their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of the worst protests by the Oromo people in more than two decades.

Police fired tear gas after anti-government protesters threw stones and bottles, but others said demonstrators were entirely peaceful.

The national flag is flying at half-mast at all government buildings regular programmes on state radio have been replaced with music, the AFP news agency reports.

But many said the demonstrators were protesting peacefully about political and economic marginalisation

The unrest if the worst to hit Ethiopia in more than two decades