An estimated 50,000 people attended Ethiopia’s annual national celebrations in the northern town of Adwa yesterday, following efforts by the government to promote the event after months of political unrest last year.
The crowds were double their usual size for the event which marks the 121st anniversary of the battle of Adwa, in which emperor Menelik defeated Italian troops.
The victory allowed Ethiopia to avoid European colonisation as the only sub-Saharan African country apart from Liberia to do so.
The festivities were attended by President Mulatu Teshome, cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries.
Those who attended the festivities including mock battles and a military parade said they were the biggest since the 100th anniversary of the Adwa battle in 1996.
The celebrations come at an opportune time for the country’s embattled leadership, which has seen anti-government protests that claimed hundreds of lives since November 2015.
A state of emergency imposed in October 2016 is still in force following the protests mainly in the Oromia region, which includes Addis Ababa and where the Oromo ethnic group feels excluded from political and economic power.
“Our youth weren’t protesting against the government. They were ... calling on the government to pay enough attention to their causes,” government spokesman Negeri Lencho said in Adwa. “We now want to ... involve them in our development endeavours.”
The government’s popularity has also dipped over a drought affecting 5.6mn people.