The human rights watchdog says the crackdown threatens the new era of human rights gains in Ethiopia.

Fighting between Oromo activists and other ethnic groups in the Ethiopian capital and the suburb of Burayu has left 65 people dead in recent days.

Ethiopian police has responded by making 3 200 arrests.

The police say only 1 000 of these are people people involved in the fighting. 107 have been charged.

The other arrests have been in casinos, bars and sisha dens where people chew the narcotic khat leaves.

Under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, reforms have taken the edge off Ethiopia’s authoritarian security forces and enabled many  opposition political figures to feel confident enough to return from exile.

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