Five Ethiopians arrested over communal clash

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Police in Ethiopia's central Oromia regional state announced on Saturday it has arrested five individuals over communal clash.

Yishak Ayana, administrator of Yayu district of Oromia regional state, said the clash left six people injured and yet unspecified material damage, reported state owned Ethiopia News Agency.

He further said police has been able to prevent the clash from escalating with the help of local community.

Yayu and neighboring districts were scenes of communal violence in October 2017 which left more than a dozen dead.

The violence involving members of the Oromo ethnic group, longtime residents of the area, and ethnic Amharas and Tigrayans, who settled in the area in recent decades, raised concerns about the specter of wider civil strife in Ethiopia.

Disputes over resource exploitation and land ownership in Oromia regional states led to unrest in 2016 that left hundreds of dead.

Oromos, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group making up a third of the country's 100 million population, have complained of decades of economic, political and social marginalization by successive governments. Enditem