Since April the security situation in Amhara has been deteriorating following the decision to disband the region’s paramilitary group .

Each of the country’s states have had their own special forces, but the government has moved to bring them under the military and police.

Deadly anti-government protests broke out in response in Amhara.

The curfew was imposed in Shewa Robit town after Abdu Hussein, the head of the local security department, was gunned down by unknown assailants on Tuesday.

It is the third such killing in as many days in Amhara. A police chief and security head in another district had previously been shot dead.

The authorities in Shewa Robit, which is around 200km (124 miles) north-east of the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, have prohibited the movement of individuals and vehicles after 18:00 local time.

The Amhara special forces helped the Ethiopian army fight Tigrayan fighters who had launched a rebellion in 2020 against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.

The conflict ended last November with the signing of a peace accord last year.