AP

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia –  Ethiopian officials have declared a state of emergency amid widespread anti-government protests that have persisted for more than two years and in which hundreds have been killed and several thousand detained, the majority of whom have since been released. It is Ethiopia’s second state of emergency in two years and comes a day after the prime minister resigned.

The Council of Ministers stated that they called the emergency because the protests have caused injuries and the loss of lives, the displacement of citizens, the destruction of properties, attacks based on ethnic lines and threats against the constitutional order of the county. The statement did not say how long the emergency will be in effect.

On Thursday Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced his surprise resignation. He had been prime minister since 2012