Ethiopian minority group considers breakaway

Members of Ethiopia’s Sidama ethnic group are today expected to vote on forming a breakaway regional state. A Mail & Guardian Online report notes that the poll risks further destabilising the country ahead of next year’s national elections. The Sidama push for statehood already triggered violence in July that left dozens dead and prompted the government to place Ethiopia’s southern region under the control of soldiers and federal police. The referendum touches on the issue of autonomy – the bedrock of a federal system designed to provide widespread ethnic self-rule in a hugely diverse country of more than 100m people.