ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia on Friday filed terrorism charges against four suspects over the killing of a popular political singer whose death ignited protests in which more than 178 people were killed, a spokesman for the attorney general told Reuters.

The assassination in June of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a musician revered by the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, sparked days of violence in Addis Ababa and the surrounding Oromiya region.

In the aftermath of the protests more than 9,000 individuals including politicians, activists and journalists were arrested.[USKCN2591KH]

Last week, 2,000 people were charged in connection with the violence.

Among them was prominent media mogul and Oromo opposition politician Jawar Mohammed, charged with violating anti-terrorism, telecom fraud and firearms laws.

State-run media Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday the individuals charged with terrorism were working with other suspects still at large to assassinate prominent individuals, to create chaos and remove the government.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw, Writing by Giulia Paravicini, William Maclean)

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