ADDIS ABABA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A curfew has been imposed in Gonder city in Ethiopia's northern region of Amhara, local officials disclosed Monday.
Auto-rickshaws are prohibited from operating outside of the period from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Gonder city administration command post said in a press statement, adding that bars and nightclubs are prohibited from remaining open beyond 9 p.m.
The curfew was imposed amid ongoing protest demonstrations starting last week in cities across the Amhara region against a federal government plan to "disarm the region's special forces."
The Ethiopian government plans to incorporate special forces in the country's 11 regional states into other regional security structures with the aim to form a strong and united security structure, said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a statement posted on his social media account on Sunday.
The curfew order also prohibited anyone outside authorized security forces structures from moving around with firearms as well as moving around with crude sharp objects. ■