Story highlights State of emergency declared for first time since ruling party came to power 25 years ago 
 
 It comes after months of escalating protests around the country 
 
 (CNN) The Ethiopian government on Sunday declared a six-month nationwide state of emergency following months of anti-government protests. 
 
 It is the first time since the ruling party came to power 25 years ago that a state of emergency has been put in place in Ethiopia. 
 
 The country's prime minister said via state media that the steps were taken to restore order following escalating protests around the country. 
 
 Among those protesting are Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromos, who make up at least a third of the country's 100 million people. 
 
 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths Festival goers flee as police fire teargas into the crowd in Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sunday, October 2. At least 52 people died during the stampede that followed. An estimated two million people had gathered at a sacred lake to take part in the Irreecha ceremony to mark the Oromo New Year. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths Security forces standby as Oromo people cross their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of Oromo anti-government protests. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths According to AFP photographer Zacharias Abubeker the event quickly degenerated, with protesters throwing stones and bottles and security forces responding with baton charges and tear gas grenades. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths Bystanders work to remove an injured man from a ditch. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths People help a man wash his eyes after police used teargas on festival participants. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths A man covers the bodies of festival goers who were killed in the stampede. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: Ethiopia Oromo deaths Oromo regional police officers wait in a pickup near a crowd of festival attendees. Hide Caption 7 of 7 
 
 But they have been marginalized for decades, with tensions rising recently as the government promoted development that took over Oromo farmland. 
 
 Read More ||||| Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency following months of often violent anti-government protests, especially in the restive Oromia region. 
 
 "A state of emergency has been declared because the situation posed a threat against the people of the country," Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on state-run television on Sunday. 
 
 Local media said the state of emergency, declared for the first time in 25 years, will last for six months. 
 
 Earlier on Sunday, the state Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the state of emergency was effective as of Saturday evening as a means to "deal with anti-peace elements that have allied with foreign forces and are jeopardising the peace and security of the country". 
 
 It added that the Council of Ministers discussed the damage by the protests across the country and declared the state of emergency in a message delivered to Hailemariam. 
 
 Al Jazeera's Fahmida Miller, reporting from Mombasa, said that people were concerned about "the powers this state of emergency allows the prime minister to have". 
 
 "The security forces for example will now fall under the prime minister's control specifically. And if we look back over the last year, things like the internet have been blocked to prevent people communicating and allowing these protests to continue," she said. 
 
 Protests reignited this week in the Oromia region - the main focus of a recent wave of demonstrations - after dozens of people were killed in a stampede on October 2, which was sparked by police firing tear gas and warning shots at a huge crowd of protesters attending a religious festival. 
 
 The official death toll given by the government was 55, though opposition activists and rights groups said they believe more than 100 people died as they fled security forces, falling into ditches that dotted the area. 
 
 According to government officials, factories, company premises and vehicles were burned out completely or damaged during the recent wave of protests. Many roads leading to the capital, Addis Ababa, were reported to be blocked. 
 
 READ MORE: 'I am not seeking asylum in the US', says Oromo marathoner 
 
 The death toll from unrest and clashes between police and demonstrators over the past year or more runs into several hundred, according to opposition and rights group estimates. At least 500 people have been killedby security forces since anti-government protests began in November, New York-based Human Rights Watch group said in August. 
 
 The government says such figures are inflated and has denied that violence from the security forces is systemic. In August, it rejected a United Nations request to send in observers, saying it alone was responsible for the security of its citizens. 
 
 The anti-government demonstrations started in November among the Oromo, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, and later spread to the Amhara, the second most populous group. 
 
 Though they initially began over land rights, they later broadened into calls for more political, economic and cultural rights. 
 
 Both groups say that a multi-ethnic ruling coalition and the security forces are dominated by the Tigray ethnic group, which makes up only about 6 percent of the population. 
 
 The government, though, blames rebel groups and foreign-based dissidents for stoking the violence. ||||| Ethiopia's Communication Affairs Minister Getachew Reda speaks to media about the current unrest in the country, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. The Ethiopian government has... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ethiopia's Communication Affairs Minister Getachew Reda speaks to media about the current unrest in the country, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency effective immediately following a week of anti-government violence that... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ethiopia's Communication Affairs Minister Getachew Reda speaks to media about the current unrest in the country, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency effective immediately following a week of anti-government violence that... (Associated Press) Ethiopia's Communication Affairs Minister Getachew Reda speaks to media about the current unrest in the country, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. The Ethiopian government has... (Associated Press) 
 
 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia's government on Monday blamed Egypt for supporting outlawed rebels and forcing the declaration of the country's first state of emergency in a quarter-century as widespread anti-government protests continue. 
 
 There is "ample evidence" that Egypt provided training and financing to the Oromo Liberation Front, labeled a terrorist organization by Ethiopia, government spokesman Getachew Reda told journalists in the capital, Addis Ababa. "We know for a fact that the terrorist group OLF is receiving all kinds of support from Egypt." 
 
 Egypt last week denied any support for the Ethiopian rebels. 
 
 The six-month state of emergency declared Sunday will be used to reorganize the security forces to better respond to the anti-government protests throughout much of the Oromia region, Getachew said. 
 
 The developments come as German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to visit Ethiopia on Tuesday and meet with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on issues including the migrant crisis. Ethiopia is one of the world's top host countries of refugees. 
 
 Merkel will discuss the current political situation and "of course clearly address human rights," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said. 
 
 At least 400 people have been killed in anti-government protests in the past year, human rights groups and opposition activists have said. The protesters have been demanding wider freedoms in a country that is a close security ally of the West and one of Africa's best-performing economies. 
 
 On Oct. 2, more than 50 people were killed in a stampede after security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters during a religious festival in Bishoftu, southeast of the capital. The incident sparked more violence in Oromia, where hundreds of local and foreign businesses have been attacked over suspected government ties and more people have been killed, according to both the government and opposition. 
 
 An internet blackout that has been in place for the past five days was briefly lifted Monday before service disappeared again. 
 
 The state of emergency will not mean a total ban on civilian rights and there will not be a blanket curfew across the country, Getachew said. "This is not an attempt by the military to take over," he added. 
 
 The government has said the state of emergency may include a curfew in some locations, arrests and search-and-seizures without a court order, restrictions on the right to assembly and a ban on some communications. 
 
 The six months is the maximum time Ethiopia allows for a state of emergency, but it can be renewed. 
 
 An informal state of emergency has been in place in Ethiopia for some time during which people have been arbitrarily arrested and even killed, Mulatu Gemechu of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress party told The Associated Press. 
 
 "Declaring a state of emergency at this time in Ethiopia is aimed at legitimizing the killings that we have seen in the Oromia region recently," Mulatu said. "It won't solve the public's problems and will only worsen it. What people are looking for is a radical change. The people now want the setting up of a transitional or caretaker government." 
 
 Ethiopian lawmakers are expected to convene later Monday after a two-month recess, and a Cabinet reshuffle is expected in the next two to three weeks, said government spokesman Getachew. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. ||||| Rights groups claim 500 people have died in unrest sparked by development plans in the region around Addis Ababa 
 
 The Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency following a week of anti-government violence that resulted in deaths and property damage across the country, especially in the restive Oromia region. 
 
 Rights groups say that since last year more than 500 people have been killed in protests in the Oromia region surrounding the capital Addis Ababa. 
 
 Anger about a development scheme for the capital turned into broader anti-government demonstrations over politics and human rights abuses as the government promotes Ethiopia as one of Africa’s top-performing economies. 
 
 The government says the death toll is inflated. 
 
 In a televised address on Sunday, Ethiopia’s prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the state of emergency was declared because there has been “enormous” damage to property. 
 
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 “We put our citizens’ safety first. Besides, we want to put an end to the damage that is being carried out against infrastructure projects, education institutions, health centers, administration and justice buildings,” said Desalegn on the state Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation. 
 
 “The recent developments in Ethiopia have put the integrity of the nation at risk,” he said. 
 
 “The state of emergency will not breach basic human rights enshrined under the Ethiopian constitution and won’t also affect diplomatic rights listed under the Vienna Convention,” said Desalegn. 
 
 The internet is blocked across many parts of Ethiopia, residents reported on Sunday. The government has blocked the internet for more than a week to prevent protesters from using social media to get supporters to attend demonstrations. 
 
 Major towns and cities across Ethiopia’s Oromia region are experiencing unrest and widespread violent protests of people demanding wider freedoms. More than 50 people were killed on October 2 in a stampede triggered when police fired teargas and bullets to disperse protestors at the annual Irrecha thanksgiving celebration in Bishoftu town. 
 
 An American woman was killed last week when she was hit by a rock thrown by protesters. Some businesses have been targeted because of suspected links to the government. 
 
 The state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate said the attacks on factories in Sebeta town on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, affected more than 40,000 workers. Textile, plastic, cement and bottled-water factories have been targeted. 
 
 Anti-government protests continued on Sunday. Many roads into and out of the capital, Addis Ababa, are blocked by protesters and those who try to drive through are targeted by people who jump out from behind bushes and hurl rocks, witnesses told the Associated Press by phone on Sunday. 
 
 Ethiopia's clampdown on dissent tests ethnic federal structure Read more 
 
 The state broadcaster said details of the state of emergency will be communicated to the public later Sunday. 
 
 “There are sufficient grounds to declare a state of emergency in Ethiopia,” said Abiy Chelkeba, assistant professor of law at Mekelle University. “The situation in many areas across the Oromia region has become so severe that law enforcement agencies themselves have become targets and were attacked with a high intensity. Moreover, the constitutional order of the country has been endangered. All in all, the value systems of the constitution like a respect for the national flag and adherence to the governance system are in danger.” 
 
 In a separate development, Ethiopian officials summoned Egypt’s ambassador to the country, Aboubakr Hefny, for discussions. An Ethiopian foreign affairs minister talked to the Egyptian diplomat after a video appeared online which purportedly shows members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front sharing a stage with what Ethiopia’s state broadcaster described as Egyptians. 
 
 Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
– For 25 years, Ethiopia's ruling party hasn't had to call a state of emergency, but it did just that Sunday in response to recent protests against the powers that be, and it's going to be a long one: six months due to the "loss of lives and property damages occurring in the country," the prime minister said, per local media via CNN. The most recent protests started on Oct. 2 after dozens of people died in clashes with government security forces during a holy festival celebrated by the country's Oromo people. But activists say it wasn't just 52 people (the official government tally) who died during that incident, but more than 500, downed by bullets and tear gas from the authorities. Locals also say the government has been blocking the Internet to keep people from communicating and rallying, the Guardian reports. The nation's communications minister scoffs at the October protest claims, saying none of the deceased had bullet wounds and were killed by stampeding crowds instead. The Oromo and Amhara people have long protested their marginalization, even though together they make up nearly two-thirds of the nation's population, per the BBC. Al Jazeera notes protests started in November, first over land rights, then including political, cultural, and economic issues. Activists say hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands detained. The government says the state of emergency entails, per the AP, some curfews, restrictions or bans on communication and public assembly, and more lenient rules for carrying out arrests. Meanwhile, the government blamed Egypt on Monday for supporting an Oromo rebel group. (A well-known Oromo member: Olympian silver medalist and wrist-raiser Feyisa Lilesa.)