2 May 2014
Last updated at 14:44 GMT
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At least nine students have died during days of protests in Ethiopia's Oromia state, the government has said.
However, a witness told the BBC that 47 were killed by the security forces.
She said the protests in Ambo, 125km (80 miles) west of Addis
Ababa began last Friday over plans to expand the capital into Oromia
state.
The government did not say how most of the deaths had been
caused but the Ambo resident said she had seen the army firing live
ammunition.
Analysis
James Hassam
Addis Ababa
The student protestors are from Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, the Oromo, numbering around 27 million people.
Oromia is the country's largest region, completely
surrounding the capital Addis Ababa, although the city is itself part of
the Amhara region.
Its people speak their own language - Oromifa - and see themselves as very different from the Amhara.
The protesters believe they face losing their regional and
cultural identity if plans to extend Addis Ababa's administrative
control into parts of Oromia get the go-ahead.
Some have also raised fears of the potential for land grabs.
The so called "master-plan" for Addis Ababa is currently out for
public consultation and the government says people are being given opportunities to raise their concerns.
Officials say the plan has been well publicised and will bring city services to poor rural areas.
The protestors claim they merely wanted to raise questions about the plan - but were answered with violence and intimidation.
"I saw more than 20 bodies on the streets," she said.
"I am hiding in my house because I am scared."
The Ambo resident said that four students had been killed on
Monday and another 43 in a huge security crackdown on Tuesday, after a
huge demonstration including many non-students.
Since then, the town's streets have been deserted, she said, with banks and shops closed and no transport.
She said teaching had been suspended at Ambo University, where the protests began, and students prevented from leaving.
In a statement, the government
said eight people had died during violent protests led by "anti-peace
forces" in the towns of Ambo and Tokeekutayu, as well as Meda Welabu
University, also in Oromia state.
It said one person had been killed "in a related development"
when a hand grenade was thrown at students watching a football match.
The statement blamed the protests on "baseless rumours" being
spread about the "integrated development master plan" for the capital.
BBC Ethiopia analyst Hewete Haileselassie says some ethnic
Oromos feel the government is dominated by members of the Tigre and
Amhara communities and they would be loath to see the size of "their"
territory diminish with the expansion of Addis Ababa, which is claimed
by both Oromos and Amharas.
