ADDIS ABABA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's upper house of parliament, the House of Federation, on Wednesday formally approved the formation of the country's 12th region.
The decision came after a recent referendum held in six zones and five special districts of the country's Southern Nations and Nationalities People's Regional State showed a result in favor of the formation of a separate regional state, the House of Federation said in a statement.
The new region will be called the South Ethiopia region, the statement said.
Last year, nearly 97 percent of voters in a local referendum approved a proposal to create Ethiopia's 11th region, named South-West region.
Over the years, several ethnic groups in Ethiopia have been campaigning to create their own regions, occasionally sparking fears of political instability in the East African country. ■