ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Melez Zenawi reportedly has jailed some 40,000 people in its recent crackdown on its opponents.
Those arrested include teenage boys, reports Britain's Telegraph which said Zenawi was handpicked by Prime Minister Tony Blair as a member of Britain's Commission for Africa.
The report said Zenawi has launched a systematic onslaught against every possible adversary, and his government has locked up the entire leadership of Ethiopia's main opposition party.
The government also has closed five newspapers and jailed their editors, while police have killed about 80 demonstrators.
Ethiopia's troubles started after the general elections in May. The opposition said the polls were rigged and called for mass protests in the capital, Addis Ababa.
