ETHIOPIA: Ex-leader of Somali region arrested

Police in Ethiopia arrested the disgraced former head of the eastern Somali region on Monday on charges of human rights abuses and stoking deadly ethnic clashes, the attorney general’s office said. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, presiding over democratic reforms in the African nation of 100 million, said on Saturday rights abuses committed in the region […]

Police in Ethiopia arrested the disgraced former head of the eastern Somali region on Monday on charges of human rights abuses and stoking deadly ethnic clashes, the attorney general’s office said.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, presiding over democratic reforms in the African nation of 100 million, said on Saturday rights abuses committed in the region “defied belief” and included torture, rapes and killings.

The region’s administrator, Abdi Mohammed Omer, was forced to resign on Aug. 6 after violence broke out in the provincial capital Jijiga.

On Monday, Federal Police “apprehended Abdi Mohammed Omer at his home in Addis Ababa,” state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation said, citing the Federal Attorney General’s Office.

“Crimes he committed include, among others, human rights abuses and stoking disputes along ethnic and religious lines,” it said, adding that other officials were also sought by police.