Ethiopian Muslims Protest Government

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Abeba, turned out this past weekend to protest what they feel is mistreatment at the hands of the Ethiopian government. More here.

Orthodox-Muslim relations in Ethiopia have been tense over recent years due to the sporadic burning of Orthodox churches in primarily Muslim areas and the Muslim minority's dissatisfaction with a national census that showed that Islam is not practiced by over half the country, despite Muslim claims to the contrary and sometimes aggressive proselytization funded out of the Arabian Peninsula.

Ethiopian Government Arrests Opposition Members

A coalition of Ethiopian opposition parties, Medrek, is claiming that the Ethiopian government has arrested 250 of its members due to plans to hold protests against the government's abuse of electoral laws. The arrests come as the Ethiopian government ramps up efforts to raise its support in the Ethiopian Diaspora, many of whose members left Ethiopia due to political oppression under the former Communist regime and the current EPRDF government. More here.