NNA - Two people were killed Friday in Addis Ababa during a demonstration against the destruction of mosques as part of a megacity project around the Ethiopian capital, a media close to the government said, citing the police. 

Incidents erupted outside the al-Awar mosque in northern Addis Ababa after Muslim worshipers took to the streets after Friday prayers. “Two people injured during unrest in an area known as Gas Tera have been reported to have died after being taken to hospital for treatment,” state media FanaBC wrote on its website. According to police quoted by FanaBC, four protesters and 52 police officers were injured.

A witness present at the al-Anouar mosque told AFP that worshipers launched slogans hostile to the project of a large urban center called Sheger City and to the government. “After our Friday prayers, people started shouting to stop destroying our mosques,” he said, requesting anonymity. “Large security forces arrived which infuriated people when they reached the gates of al-Awar mosque. People threw rocks and shoes at them and after that they (the police) started firing tear gas and bullets in the air,” he continued. --- AFP