Scores of people have been reportedly crushed to death in Ethiopia in a stampede after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a religious festival.
There were conflicting death toll reports following Sunday’s stampede in Bishoftu, a town 40km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.
An AFP news agency photographer at the scene said he saw 15-20 unmoving bodies, some of whom were clearly dead.
An Associated Press news agency report said “several dozens” have died.
“As a result of the chaos, lives were lost and several of the injured were taken to hospital,” the government communications office said in a statement, without giving exact figures.
“Those responsible will face justice.”
An estimated two million people were attending the annual Irrecha event in Bishoftu.