Following the ratification of the controversial state of emergency last Friday, people in many parts of Oromia region stayed away from work today as part of a three-day strike called by activists. Shops were shut and roads deserted in the surrounding areas of Addis Ababa, such as Burayu, Legetafo, Sebeta. And most roads leading into western part of Ethiopia such as Ambo and Wolliso, usually congested with traffic, were empty, except for heavily armed patrols.
A resident of Seka village of Jimma zone told BBC Amharic that the roads were blocked with stones starting from early morning. Certain long distance public busses were seen passing in the direction of Mizan, Tepi and Bonga accompanied by army trucks in the early morning, and the passengers were forced to get out of the buses to clear the roads.
When the trucks with the soldiers returned, they found protesters burning tyres along the road and they started firing and four persons were wounded, who were transported to hospitals, according the BBC Amharic.
Government offices, businesses, schools and banks in Shashemene were shut, and similar shutdowns were reported in other towns, including Nekemte, Mendi, Metu, Negele. In the eastern town of Dire Dawa, the call to strike was largely followed and most shops remained closed. In Yabello, all the major markets were closed during the strike which remained peaceful. However, in some towns such as Guder, sound of gunfire and explosives were heard around mid-day and continued with some intensity for about an hour. A resident of the Guder town told VOA Amharic service that solders entered into her house and shot and killed her husband and wounded her son.