Three days of mourning for 52 killed in Ethiopia stampede

Dozens of people have died in a stampede in Ethiopia, after a religious festival turned into an anti-government protest.

People march during an annual festival in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, where several dozen people have died in a stampede. Source: AAP

A regional government in Ethiopia has confirmed that 52 people have been killed in a stampede after police tried to disperse an anti-government protest at a massive religious festival.

The Oromia regional government confirmed the death toll late on Sunday.

The government is also declaring three days of national mourning.

The stampede occurred in one of the East African country's most politically sensitive regions, Oromia.

It has seen months of sometimes deadly demonstrations demanding wider freedoms.