Concerns over government clamp down

Ethiopia is using last month's assassination of high-ranking officials as a pretext to arrest critics with no apparent links to the attacks, international and domestic rights activists have said. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been praised for releasing political prisoners and embarking on sweeping reforms to loosen controls in long-authoritarian Ethiopia. However, a report on the News24 site notes that activists fear that after the killings, his government's crackdown represents a return to repressive tactics used by past governments to stifle dissent. 'They're resorting to violence,' said former political prisoner Eskinder Nega. Five officials, including the national army chief and the President of the northern Amhara region, were killed in the 22 June attacks which the government has described to a regional coup attempt.