Ethiopia has confirmed the arrest of leading opposition politician Jawar Mohammed, a move that risks inflaming ethnic tensions that have led to multiple deaths in the Oromia region this week.

Jawar, a former media mogul who recently joined the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, was arrested on Monday in Addis Ababa along with 34 other people, federal police commissioner Endeshaw Tassew said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The arrest came during an altercation with the security forces over the body of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer who was gunned down on Monday night, kicking off widespread protests.

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Endeshaw said that as Hachalu's body was being transported to his native town of Ambo for burial, Jawar and his supporters intercepted it and tried to return it to Addis Ababa, where a clash ensued.

Jawar's arrest could exacerbate violence in Oromia, which surrounds Addis Ababa and is the heartland of the country's largest ethnic group, the Oromo.