Ethiopian Movement #BringBackOurStudents Demands Answers from the Government

AfricaNews reports that numerous Ethiopians on social media are calling for the government to provide answers for at least 18 students from Dembi Dollo University who were reportedly abducted two months ago.

Similar to Nigeria's 2014 online campaign #BringBackOurGirls which was a response to the 276 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, the #BringBackOurStudents movement is Ethiopia's attempt to do the same.

Tensions are mounting as the whereabouts of the Ethiopian students abducted two months ago remain unknown.

There seems to be conflicting reports about the exact number of the abducted students with the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopiaplacing the number at 18 while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's press secretary Nigussu Tilahun claims it is 21.What is a constant, however, is that the majority of the abducted students are female.

While Tilahun has since disclosed that only 6 of the abducted students remain captive, a number of family members have told various media outlets that they are yet to hear from their loved ones.

Yeneneh Adugna, told Associated Pressthat she has last heard from her own daughter a month ago after youths from the local area allegedly took [students] to the forest in the Amhara region of the country. "I don't know what happened to her since." Adugna added that, "We are living in an anguish every day. We are crying every day. We want to know whether they are alive or dead. No one is giving us any information."

No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions although officials within the Oromia region of the country have pointed the finger towards the Oromo Liberation Army. The army has denied the accusations and instead shifted the blame to Prime Minister Ahmed's government and continued inter-ethnic violence in the country.

Below are just some of the many calls by Ethiopians on social media to have the students released: