Ethiopian security forces earlier on Thursday used batons and tear gas to prevent Addis Ababa residents from celebrating Adwa victory, multiple media reports indicate.
Multiple video based media reports indicate, special forces soldiers and police used batons and shot tear gas at residents of the capital city who tried to congregate at Menelik square to celebrate the 127-year anniversary of the Victory of Adwa.
In recent days, security forces have been harassing traditional clothes makers and confiscating t-shirts in the city which they arbitrarily deemed to be contrary to state-sanctioned narrative on the holiday. Security forces have also reportedly closed down several traditional clothes shops in the city.
The battle of Adwa on March 2,1896, which is also referred to as the first Ethiopian-Italian war, marks the first decisive black victory against a colonizer force in the African continent.
The battle of Adwa which was mainly fought in the Adwa mountains around 980 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, is believed to have inspired other liberation fighters in the continent and around the world to struggle for freedom against colonialism.
