title: Eleven killed in clashes in Ethiopia's Oromiya region, official says
text: ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethnic clashes killed 11 people this week in Ethiopia s Oromiya region, a regional government official said on Sunday, the latest unrest in a province that was wracked by violence in 2015 and 2016. Nearly 700 people died last year during one period of the violence in Ethiopia s largest region and other areas, according to a parliament-mandated investigation. The unrest forced the government to impose a nine-month state of emergency that was finally lifted in August. Sporadic protests have taken place since then. Violence broke out this week in two districts in the province s west after protests led to clashes between ethnic Oromos and Amharas, the spokesman for the region s administration said on Sunday.  Eight Oromos and three Amharas died,  spokesman Addisu Arega Kitessa said in a statement.  The previous unrest was provoked by a development scheme for the capital, Addis Ababa, that dissidents said amounted to land grabs. Broader anti-government demonstrations followed, over politics and human rights abuses.  The violence included attacks on businesses, many of them foreign-owned, including farms growing flowers for export.  Separately, clashes along the border between the country s Oromiya and Somali regions last month also displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The area has been plagued by sporadic violence for decades. A referendum held in 2004 to determine the status of disputed settlements failed to ease tensions. Those clashes have  fueled fears about security in Ethiopia, the region s biggest economy and a staunch Western ally. 