Facebook removes Ethiopian PM's post for inciting violence

Facebook has removed a post by Ethiopia's prime minister that incited 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.

Spokesperson for facebook's parent company, Meta says the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's post on Sunday violated the platform's policies against inciting and supporting violence, hence had to be taken off on Tuesday morning.

The past said: ``The obligation to die for Ethiopia belongs to all of us_,'' Abiy said in the now-deleted post that called on citizens to mobilize ``by holding any weapon or capacity''._

The latest action has not stopped the prime minister as he keeps posting on the social media platform where he has 3.5 million followers.

The United States and others have warned Ethiopia about ``dehumanizing rhetoric_'' after the prime minister in comments in July described the Tigray forces as ``cancer'' and ``weeds.''_

This is not the first time Facebook has removed posts published by world leaders. Earlier this year, the company 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.''

Just last week, the tech platform yanked a live broadcast from Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro because he made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Alarmed, Abiy's government this week declared a national state of emergency with sweeping powers of detention and military conscription. The prime minister repeated his call to ``bury'' the Tigray forces in public comments on Wednesday as he and other officials marked one year of war.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia's highly polarized 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.