Ethiopia’s defense minister told local media on Wednesday that they had intercepted a large number of firearms being smuggled into the country.
Siraj Fegesa, the defense minister of Ethiopia, said they had seized some 270 Kalashnikov rifles, 200 pistols, and a total of 66,000 bullets while being smuggled into the country “to escalate the conflicts”, the state-affiliated FANA broadcasting corporate reported.
The minister drew attention to the armed clashes that broke out after the country had lifted its ten-month state of emergency in Aug. 2017.
He said the anti-government protests in many parts of the Oromia and Amhara states as well as the recent clashes between the Somali and Oromia regional states had left hundreds dead and caused tens of thousands to flee their villages.
Fegesa said, as per the request of both regional states, the national defense forces were deployed in various areas in both the Somali and Oromia regions where the clashes had broken out.