Police block mourners from Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa's funeral

Two people have been shot dead and seven others injured during the funeral of a popular Ethiopian singer.

Soldiers opened fire on mourners heading to the funeral in the Ethiopian town of Ambo on Thursday. The assassination of the singer has sparked violence that has left around 100 dead.

Hachalu Hundessa, a member of the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia's largest, was shot dead by unknown attackers in the capital Addis Ababa on Monday night, fuelling ethnic tensions threatening the country's democratic transition.

His music gave voice to Oromos' widespread sense of economic and political marginalisation during years of anti-government protests that swept Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to power in 2018.

Mourners blocked from attending funeral

The funeral was broadcasted live on the Oromia Broadcasting Network.

Despite the shockwave provoked by his death, only a few hundred attended the short but emotional service at a football stadium.

A medical official in the town and an opposition member said that security forces had blocked roads leading to the funeral, and fired at crowds trying to make their way there.

"There has been an operation today related to the funeral. Nine people have been shot and two of them have died in our hospital," said the official at the Ambo referral hospital on condition of anonymity.

Filenbar Uma, a member of the opposition Oromo Liberation Front in Ambo, described security forces shooting as "people were kept from going" to the funeral.

'True freedom fighter' 

Hachalu's casket was driven into the stadium in Ambo in a black car, accompanied by a brass band and men on horseback. He was later buried at an Orthodox church in the town.

"He was a true freedom fighter," Belay Aqenaw, the funeral's organiser, said in a speech. "He was a singer who raised our spirits."

Hachalu's death sparked protests in the capital and across the Oromia region – the largest of the country's ethnic federal states – which surrounds Addis Ababa.

Oromia regional police said on Thursday that 87 people, including four of the region's police officers, had been killed over the last three days, with 76 seriously injured.

In a separate statement, Addis Ababa's police said 10 people had been killed in the capital over that period, including two officers, which raises the total official toll to 97.

Prime Minister Abiy, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said in a statement on Wednesday night that those behind Hachalu's death sought to derail his reform agenda and "kill Ethiopia".

"We have two choices as a people. To fall into the trap being set up by detractors or to deviate from their trap and stay on the course of reforms," Abiy said. 

"Choosing the first is to willingly aid them in our demise."

READ MORE: Ethiopia police confirm arrest of leading opposition politician
UN chief 'calls for calm' 

In New York, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "calls for calm and for all stakeholders in Ethiopia to refrain from any action likely to fuel tension", his spokesman said.

The streets of Addis were relatively calm on Thursday, though traffic was sparse and many shops remained closed. 

"Looting of shops and residence areas has worsened," the US embassy in Addis said in a security advisory, noting that three banks had been robbed and four fuel service stations burned.

Outside St Paul's Hospital on Thursday, 24-year-old Fikadu Kebebe, an Oromo, waited to retrieve the body of his younger brother, Getu Kebebe, who he said had been shot by security forces Wednesday. 

"He was protesting just to show his emotion over the death of Hachalu. When the police started shooting he tried to run away but he was hit twice in the back and he died on the spot," Fikadu told said. 

"The government is targeting the Oromo people in every part of the city. Life in Ethiopia is getting more bitter day by day."

Though Abiy is the country's first Oromo leader, many Oromo nationalists say he's been a poor champion of the group's interests since coming to power.

Local outcry

Two prominent opposition Oromo politicians, Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba, appeared in court on Thursday on charges of "participating in the death of a person", reported the state-affiliated FANA broadcasting corporate.

The two were arrested during a scuffle with security forces on Tuesday in which a police officer died.

The attorney general's office said late on Thursday that the premises of three media outlets – including Jawar's Oromia Media Network – had been searched on suspicion of "incitement to racial or religious hatred".

It added that two new suspects had been arrested in the investigation into Hachalu's murder in addition to the three already detained.

READ MORE: Ethiopia unrest leaves more than 80 dead