Facebook says it removed a post by Ethiopia’s prime minister that urged citizens to rise up and “bury” the rival Tigray forces who now threaten the capital as the country’s war reaches the one-year mark.
Spokeswoman Emily Cain for Facebook’s parent company, Meta said it was taken down on Tuesday morning because Ahmed’s post on Sunday violated the platform’s policies against inciting and supporting violence.
“The obligation to die for Ethiopia belongs to all of us,” Abiy said in the now-deleted post that called on citizens to mobilise “by holding any weapon or capacity.”
Abiy is still regularly posting on the platform, where he has 3.5 million followers. The United States and others have warned Ethiopia about “dehumanising rhetoric” after the prime minister in comments in July described the Tigray forces as “cancer” and “weeds.”
Earlier this year, Facebook deleted a video from U.S President Donald Trump in which he peddled false claims about election fraud following a deadly skirmish at the U.S Capitol. Facebook said at the time the video contributed to “the risk of ongoing violence.” Last week, the tech platform yanked a live broadcast from Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro because he made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Spokeswoman Cain did not say how Facebook was made aware of the Ethiopia post, which the Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister made as Tigray forces took control of key cities over the weekend that put them in position to move down a major highway toward the capital, Addis Ababa.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s highly polarised social media this week saw a number of high-profile posts targeting ethnic Tigrayans and even suggesting they be placed in concentration camps.
Thousands of people have been killed in the war between Ethiopian and allied forces and the Tigray ones who long dominated the national government before Abiy took office. The United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday they had received reports of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans being rounded up for detention in recent months.