Twitter temporarily suspends 'trends' feature in Ethiopia amid escalating violence

The microblogging site Twitter stated on Saturday that it has temporarily banned the 'Trends' feature in Ethiopia to ensure that the site should not be used to incite violence in the country. According to a tweet by Twitter Safety, they are keeping an eye on the situation in Ethiopia and are concentrating their efforts on ensuring security.

It further stated that inciting violence or degrading people is against Twitter's rules. In the following tweet, the company announced that they have temporarily disabled the 'Trends' feature in Ethiopia due to an imminent fear of bodily harm. They also expect that this approach, in addition to ongoing measures to prevent platform manipulation, will limit the risks of coordination that could instigate violence or injury.

'Northern Ethiopia has been consumed by internal conflict'

Since October last year, when the central government accused the Popular Front of the Liberation of Tigray (PNLF) of attacking a military facility and launched a counter-offensive in Tigray, northern Ethiopia has been consumed by internal conflict. Eritrea, a neighbouring country, backed Ethiopian authorities, though it announced in the spring of 2021 that its forces were leaving Tigray.

After PNLF threatened to march on Addis Ababa, the US embassy in the capital city of Ethiopia, issued a statement on its website advising all US nationals to leave the country as soon as possible. The statement said that in Ethiopia, the security situation is always changing and citizens of the United States are advised to evacuate as soon as possible.

UN expresses concern

The UN Security Council, on the other hand, expressed their concern about the escalating military battles between Addis Ababa and the PNLF on Friday, calling on the warring parties to seek a lasting ceasefire and terminate hostilities immediately, according to Al Jazeera. In the year-long struggle between the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigrayan forces, more than 2.5 million civilians have been displaced, and thousands have been killed.

Stressing that the military offensive has rendered at least seven million people in the regions of Tigray, Amhara, and Afar in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the UNSC on November 5 noted the impact of the conflict on the civilian population in Ethiopia, as well as the stability of the country and the wider region, according to a statement read by Mexico’s UN Ambassador Juan Ramon De La Fuente Ramirez, the current council president.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: Unsplash/ AP