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Up to 80 people have recently been killed in unrest in Ethiopia. It is the latest in the line of tensions between two of the country's largest ethnic groups, and now the worry is growing for the violence to escalate even more.
Our correspondent has met some who are affected by the unrest in the Oromia region.
"My sister plugs at the university there and it was a protest there yesterday and then you have no idea what's going to happen," says Martha, who I meet in Addis Ababa.
She is originally from the Oromia region. She and her friend Selam really name something else.
The recent conflict between the Oromo and ethnic Somali groups has so far claimed hundreds of deaths and thousands of people have been forced to flee.
This happens in a region shaken by major and violent protests against the government in 2016, which led to an exemption permit lifted after ten months in August this year.
It is unclear what lies behind recent ethnic tensions. Competition for land and resources is mentioned as possible causes, as it has been the subject of conflicts in the past.
But there are also allegations that opposites should be provoked for political purposes, as part of the power game in the governing coalition.
Mesfin Negash, head of the Africa Department of Civil Rights Defenders, says that although it is hard to prove what really lies behind the contradictions, there are indications that the allegations can be correct.
"Before these ethnic opposites, the focus was on political issues. Now everyone is discussing the ethnic conflict and no longer human rights and justice. If someone does this with pleasure, they have managed to change the agenda, says Mesfin Negash.
A major violent conflict in Ethiopia, with its over 100 million inhabitants, would be a disaster for the whole region. Mesfin Negash thinks that it can end with a split of the country, if nothing is done.
"It is quite similar to the situation in former Yugoslavia, a country divided by ethnic lines. The problems may not be as deep as in Yugoslavia, but the risk exists.
What is required for stability?
"The government must stop using superpowers against civilians and begin political negotiations. There is no other way.
In Addis Ababa, Martha and Selam, who come from different ethnic groups, hope that Ethiopia will succeed in holding together despite the opposites.
- You are in Ethiopia, but it does not feel like your home country. In my imagination I see an Ethiopia with different peoples, but if it continues this is a question mark, says Selam.
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