Ethiopia points the finger at Egypt and Eritrea over unrest

Crossing hands across the head has become a symbol of Oromo anti-government protest (AFP)

Ethiopia's information minister says groups in Eritrea and Egypt are adding to the distress, which has prompted a six-month state of emergency.

Getachew Reda said the foreign elements are arming and financing opposition groups, however not really with the formal support of their governments. 

Under the highly sensitive situation troops will be sent to quell protests. 

It takes after months of anti-government demonstrations by members of the country's two largest ethnic groups.

Violence has heightened since the start of the month when no less than 55 people were killed amid a protests at an Oromo religious festival.

The state of emergency, which was announced on Sunday, will last for six months. 

Mr Getachew told journalists in the Ethiopian, capital, Addis Ababa, that "all kinds of elements in the Egyptian political establishment" are involved but they were "not necessarily directly linked with the Egyptian government", the AP news agency quotes him as saying. 

Ethiopia's security forces have been accused of using excessive force to quell unrest (Reuters)

The minister additionally blamed Eritrea, with which Ethiopia has a long-standing border dispute. 

There has also been a long-running row with Egypt over Ethiopia's decision to build a dam on the Nile, one of the river's sources of which flows from Ethiopia to Egypt.

Mr Getachew earlier told the BBC that the state of emergency could involve banning protests.

"For the sake of maintaining public order the government believes that [the] temporary suspension of certain expression rights is warranted," he explained.

Vehicles were torched in Sebeta, the Oromia region in protests last week (Reuters)

"Armed violence that has been perpetrated by those organised gangs has been targeting civilians, has been targeting government installations, critical infrastructure.

"We have ample evidence that it is orchestrated by people who are in the business of not [just] dismantling the Ethiopian government but also dismantling the Ethiopian state in its entirety," he said.

Mr Getachew additionally guaranteed that the Ethiopian authorities would examine claims that "off-grid" cops had killed civilians.

The protests as of late have been over a progression of disappointments including attempts by the legislatures to reallocate land in the Oromo locale. 

Rights groups say that more than 500 people have died following clashes between police and protesters. 

Activists among the Oromo and Amhara communities complain that they are being politically excluded. 

The Oromo and the Amhara make up around 60% of the populace. They complain power is held by a little Tigrayan first elite.