Despite conflict in Ethiopia, millions chant and dance in streets during 'thanksgiving' festival

Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians celebrated the yearly Irreecha seasonal festival Saturday amid ongoing struggle successful parts of the country.

Irreecha, the ‘thanksgiving festival,’ is celebrated by the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest taste group, arsenic participants from each implicit the state flock to the capital, Addis Ababa.

The participants, wearing colorful Oromo accepted attire, danced successful the streets arsenic they chanted taste songs crossed parts of Addis Ababa. Many businesses were engaged arsenic attendees, estimated to beryllium successful the millions, came for the yearly festive day.

Ethiopian national constabulary said successful a connection that “millions of people" attended the celebrations successful the capital.

Meskel Square was closed to vehicles and information was tight. The city's constabulary acceptable up checkpoints starting Friday evening.

After holding greenish writer and flowers, symbolizing anticipation and prosperity, participants conducted the Irreecha ceremonial and held respective Oromo taste events chanting with charismatic and diversified creation moves.

“On this time we convey God arsenic we survived the dense rainy crushed and saw the beauteous entity of September,” Gutu Merga, a nonmigratory of Addis Ababa, said, referring to the existent Ethiopia calendar twelvemonth 2017, which Irreecha coincides with. The Ethiopian calendar runs respective years down the Gregorian calendar astir different countries follow.

“During Irreecha we commune to our almighty God, and we besides connection our thanking... holding bedewed writer and flower.”

Gifti Birhanu, a nonmigratory of Addis Ababa, said, “Irreecha is my identity, I cannot abstracted my ethnicity from my nationality.”

“It is our quality and present galore different taste groups are taking portion successful it, I americium happy,” she said.

'It brings radical together'

Many participants traveled from different towns successful Ethiopia to enactment successful the festival. Wendyifraw Ketema, a nonmigratory of Arba Minch, was 1 of them.

“We person been taking portion arsenic a radical for [the] 3rd clip now, we person [the] aforesaid ceremonial successful Gamogofa portion similar Meskel, it brings radical together,” helium said. “Irreecha is bringing up galore participants astatine 1 spot, truthful it is bully for discovering one's culture.”

In a connection posted connected Facebook, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, an Oromo himself, said Irreecha is an emblem of peace, unity and brotherhood among people.

Police successful Addis Ababa announced that Saturday’s ceremonial concluded without immoderate information issues and thanked participants and the city's dwellers for their cooperation.

Organizers said they expect millions much to flock to the accepted hosting tract of Bishoftu, a municipality immoderate 42 kilometers eastbound of the capital, to be the Irreecha festival Sunday.

Eight years ago, the festival successful Bishoftu turned deadly arsenic participants clashed with constabulary who utilized teardrop state and informing shots to negociate the crowd, which triggered a stampede. Local officials said 52 radical were killed, portion witnesser accounts enactment the decease toll astatine astir treble that. Activists are calling for a memorial to beryllium established for the victims of the incident.

Celebration contempt conflict

This year's Irreecha festival is being celebrated against the backdrop of continued struggle successful the country, including successful parts of Oromia and the Amhara regions.

In the past week, Ethiopia’s service said it has intensified subject operations against taste Amhara Fano rebel forces, a struggle that has been ongoing for much than a year.

The struggle successful the Oromia portion has been progressive overmuch longer, wherever the Oromo Liberation Army, a splinter radical of the Oromo Liberation Front, is warring authorities forces.

The OLA’s grievances are rooted successful alleged marginalization of the Oromo radical and neglect by the national government.

Peace talks betwixt Ethiopia's national authorities and the OLA past twelvemonth connected Tanzania's semi-autonomous land of Zanzibar failed to materialize.

Rights groups reported quality rights violations successful Ethiopia’s Oromia and Amhara regions.

Participants astatine Saturday’s Irreecha festival chanted for bid — to “make our state peaceful” — arsenic they splashed h2o with writer and flowers, 1 of the festival’s signature rituals.

Eskinder Firew contributed to this story. This communicative originated successful VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.