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The stay-at-home strike is still underway in Wolkite, Guraghe zone of the South Ethiopia Regional State.
It started after the government forces opened fire and killed three peaceful demonstrators last week, who were demanding an end to water shortage in the city.
A report by VOA Amharic said private and government entities in the town remained closed. And there is no business activity.
Protestors are now demanding that those behind the killing be brought to justice and compensation for those killed.
Police in the region have reportedly arrested 15 people for allegedly “inciting the protest.” It also said that it is working to restore normalcy in the town.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, last week, confirmed that three people were killed in town when they were protesting the dire shortage of water in Wolkite.
It has called on accountability for the killing, urging the regional government to investigate it, hold perpetrators accountable and compensate the victims.
The investigation from the rights group has also established that the victims were shot in the head and chest and the protest was a peaceful one demanding for water in the city.
There has been a movement in the region demanding ethnic-based statehood – which appears to be a legitimate demand based on the current Ethiopian Constitution. The national electoral board of Ethiopia has organized at least two referendums to address similar demands and in the same region.
However, the peaceful demonstration last week was entirely about the water problem in the town, according to activists.
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