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See also:	Other events of 2016 Timeline of Ethiopian history

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Ethiopia.

Incumbents

• President: Mulatu Teshome
• Prime Minister: Hailemariam Desalegn

Events

April

• April 6 - Seasonal rains come early to the country, causing floods, leaving at least 28 people dead.^[1]
• April 16 - Ethiopia claims that South Sudanese men killed at least 140 people across the border.^[2]

June

• June 13 - Ethiopia and Eritrea argue over who caused a recent border clash between the two nations.^[3]

August

• August 5 - Student protests erupt in Addis Ababa and quickly spread across the country.
• August 8 - Over 50 protesters are killed by security forces over the past few days. Internet and journalist access is also restricted by the government.^[4]

September

• September 5 - 23 prisoners are killed in a fire and stampede at the Kaliti Prison near the capital of Addis Ababa during an attempted prison break.^[5]

October

• October 2 - Police allegedly attack Oromo protesters at a religious festival in Bishoftu, causing a stampede that killed 52 people.^[6]
• October 5 - The railway line with Djibouti opens.^[7] However, an American women is killed during protests.^[8]
• October 9 - A state of emergency is declared following months of protests against the government.^[9]
• October 10 - Ethiopia blames Egypt and Eritrea for the recent unrest in the country.^[10]
• October 20 - A government minister reveals that over 1600 people have been detained following the state of emergency.^[11]

November

• November 24 - 20 aircraft pilots are detained in Ethiopia's Gambela region after "illegally" arriving from Sudan.^[12]

December

• December 1 - After arriving back from a trip to Europe, Merera Gudina, an opposition leader, is detained for allegedly violating the state of emergency.^[13]