Purge in coalition party

One of the ruling coalition parties in Ethiopia - the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Front (SEPDF) - has replaced its chairman and purged more than 30 members in a bid to wipe out corruption.

However, opposition groups claimed the purge was an attempt to rid the SEPDF of links to violence in the towns of Awassa and Tepi earlier this year, in which more than 100 people were killed.

Haile Mariam Dessalegn, who has been appointed the new chairman of the SEPDF, is already the president of the Southern Nations and Nationalities People’s Region. The former chairman, Dr Kasu Ilala, is said to have stood down because of his busy timetable.

Dr Beyene Petros from the opposition group, Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy, said the changes were aimed at political rivals.

“They are retaining people who are strongly implicated in the shootings which occurred in Awassa and Tepi,” he told IRIN. "All the SEPDF is doing is creating scapegoats.”

The purge is part of a “renewal” process ordered by the ruling coalition of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

It comes after criticism from within the ruling coalition that the SEPDF leadership was “weak” and the party riddled with corruption.

The European Union has urged the Ethiopian authorities to hold an “open transparent and public” enquiry into the killings where the security forces allegedly opened fire on demonstrators opposed to administrative changes.