Ethiopia has restricted social media and messaging platforms ahead of rival rallies scheduled following a split in the popular Orthodox Church.
The unrest, which has sparked deadly violence, began last month when some clergymen accused the main church of ethnic discrimination, which the church denies.
Authorities banned protests by both sides planned for Sunday.
Some mainline church supporters angrily accuse authorities of supporting breakaway groups.
They were banned to demonstrate the strength of the Orthodox Church, one of the oldest churches in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the few that existed in the region before the arrival of Europeans. They vowed online to continue the rally in defiance of the order. missionaries.
There are fears that the internet will be completely shut down within a few days. It’s a common tactic in this country of 115 million people, but rare in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Parts of the northern Tigray region, where two years of brutal conflict ended in November after a peace deal brokered by the African Union (AU), remain without internet access.
Internet access monitoring group NetBlocks said the current restrictions affect Facebook, Messenger, Telegram and TikTok.
Users using virtual private network (VPN) software can access these sites, but a complete shutdown will prevent them from doing so.
London-based VPN research firm TOP10VPN announced that demand for VPNs in Ethiopia surged 1,430% on Friday.
Amid rising tensions in the deeply religious society, authorities also closed schools on Friday, raising concerns that the situation could escalate further.
Authorities are also preparing for the annual AU summit, scheduled to be held next week.
It will be the organization’s first meeting since the Tigray accord was signed, and the government will be anxious to avoid chaos in Addis Ababa, where the AU is headquartered.
What’s behind the breakup?
The three archbishops from Oromia, the country’s most populous region surrounding Addis Ababa, denounced discrimination and lack of diversity in the leadership of the main church.
They argue that the Orthodox Church has been culturally dominated by other peoples for too long. For example, Amharic is the country’s official language, and its influential leaders, chieftains, are Tigrayans.
Opposing clerics say services should be held in the Oromo language, which mainline churches say they do, but not enough.
The archbishops, who were excommunicated after founding a breakaway synod, say they have significant support in Oromia and have organized opposition rallies in Addis Ababa.
But in a blow to the opposition, a court on Friday issued an injunction against them, barring them and their recently ordained clergy from entering Orthodox churches. .
The fallout may also have a political component.
The planned rally was to demonstrate the strength of that support. The country was furious after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told his ministers not to touch on the issue, feeling the government should take sides.
Following bans on public gatherings and restrictions on social media, it was announced that Abiy would meet with the Patriarch, potentially easing tensions in the coming days.
The state-aligned Ethiopian Human Rights Commission also intervened in the conflict, issuing a statement on Friday accusing security forces of using excessive force against members of mainline churches.
It cites extrajudicial killings, beatings, harassment and arbitrary arrests, and says eight people were killed in religious clashes last Saturday in Shashamane, a town in Oromia region.