Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, protested Saturday against the government and called for the release of jailed opposition figures as they gathered in the capital for their annual Thanksgiving festival of Irreecha.

Scores of people in the center of Addis Ababa chanted slogans such as “Down, down Abiy!” a reference to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, after performing ritual ceremonies to mark the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the harvest in Oromia state.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 8,177,919 as of Wednesday noon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 207,132.

Some 7,534,544 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far, it was noted.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,990,337 as of Friday morning, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 201,971.

Some 7,241,169 patients in Africa have recovered from the disease, it was noted.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the agency.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Rebellious forces from the Tigray region killed 120 civilians over two days in one village in Ethiopia's Amhara region, local officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

The killings happened in a village 10 km (six miles) from the town of Dabat on Sept. 1 and 2, according to Sewnet Wubalem, the local administrator in Dabat, and Chalachew Dagnew, the spokesperson of the nearby city of Gondar.

A spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,910,086 as of Monday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 199,500.

Some 7,143,322 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far, it was noted.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,844,232 as of Friday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 197,986.

Some 7,015,476 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far, it was noted.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia registered 693 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 306,810 as of Monday evening, the country's health ministry said.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 16 new deaths and 1,501 more recoveries from the virus, bringing the national death toll to 4,660 and total recoveries to 276,078.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the East Africa region.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission on Thursday received China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines here in the Ethiopian capital.

The vaccines, donated by the Chinese government, will mainly cover envoys of the AU Commission and African countries in Addis Ababa, said Chen Xufeng, charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the AU, at a handover ceremony.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,388,784 as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 186,367. Some 6,507,715 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the agency.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Friday evening warned that the expansion of conflict to parts of the country by rebel forces is pushing it to change its defensive stance if humanitarian overtures for peaceful resolution are unreciprocated.

The Ethiopian government in late June announced a unilateral ceasefire in the country's conflict-affected northernmost Tigray regional state.