Protests in Ethiopia after activist says he was threatened

Protesters in Ethiopia blocked roads, burned tyres and chanted slogans denouncing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday after a high-profile activist accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him.

Demonstrations occurred mainly in towns in Oromia, one of nine regions in the ethnically diverse country, and in the capital Addis, after Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed made the claim, sources said.

"Everything is shut down. Businesses are shut and all the roads leading to other parts of Ethiopia are barricaded with tyres, tree trunks and stones," said Berhanu Kebede, a resident of Shashamane, a town south of Addis.

He said some members of the crowd were shouting "Down, down, Abiy!"
"You can't play in two houses."
"The plan was to remove my security and unleash civilian attackers and claim it was a mob attack."