ADDIS ABABA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday said that the government's recent reconciliation efforts have created better security situations and strengthened unity among Ethiopians.
Ahmed, while briefing the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives (HoPR), said the various reconciliation efforts accompanied by discussions with different groups have brought better security situations.
According to Ahmed, the East African country "was at a cross road as the worsening and formidable peace and security challenges exacerbated earlier this year, eventually leading Africa's second populous nation into a brink of disintegration."
He said the instability, which forced the country to impose state of emergency twice since the second half of 2016, had created havoc among Ethiopians that impeded their constitutional rights and created serious challenges on their well-being.
Ahmed's premiership started in April amid recurrent unrests and mass anti-government demonstrations in parts of the country, particularly in Ethiopia's largest Oromia regional state where Ahmed has a strong support.
"Measures that were taken to bring back the country's stability following the recent government transition have helped to eliminate the existed misunderstanding and negative thinking among Ethiopians," Ahmed told members of the HoPR, the Ethiopian parliament's lower house.
The premier's comment came amid the ongoing riot that has hit Ethiopia's southern regional capital city of Hawassa since last week, killing at least 10 people.
The riots involved ethnic Sidamas, the original inhabitants of Hawassa city, and the neighboring Wolaita ethnic group.
Ahmed, who is due to travel to the affected city this week, has urged people to refrain from acts of destruction.
