Ethiopians have been protesting against their government for almost a year. Human Rights groups like Amnesty International on 8 August 2016 and Human Rights Watch on 15 June 2016 have reported that the security forces are responsible for killing hundreds of protestors. According to a report by Al-Jazeera on 11 August 2016, the government has rejected a call for UN observers to investigate the killings. During the Rio Olympics an Ethiopian marathon runner celebrated his silver medal with an "˜X" sign, as reported by the Washington Post on 21 August 2016. This is the sign that protesters have been using since November 2015 and it received massive media coverage all round the world. In a related incident, BBC News reported on 5 September 2016 that a prison holding many anti-government protestors was set on fire. Sustained gunfire was also heard. 23 inmates died. Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The situation in Ethiopia is creating a huge problem for the government as well as for Western governments who are looking to Ethiopia as a key ally in the war on terrorism. The ruling party has never seen such persistent and coordinated protests since it assumed power in 1991. The police have been accused of using brutal force against protestors. If this continues, it is possible that the country could be engulfed in another civil war." Yonas Dembele points out that the situation is very worrying for Christians in the country: "Even though the unrest has no religious motivation, there was at least one incident where a Catholic church was attacked during a protest (as reported by Church in Need on 1 March 2016). Some reports also indicate that the protesters are attacking foreign owned businesses. According to a report by Al-Jazeera dated 2 September 2016: "˜Crowds of people in the Oromia and Amhara regions torched flower farms as they targeted businesses with perceived links to the government." These are disturbing developments."