More than 80 people have been killed in protests in Ethiopia's Oromiya region during protests following the killing of a popular singer, a regional police commissioner told the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.

The dead included 78 civilians and three members of the security forces, said Commissioner Bedassa Merdassa.

The number does not include any deaths in the capital Addis Ababa, where one policeman has been killed and an unspecified number of people were killed in three blasts on Tuesday. The singer was shot dead on Monday night.

Musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead on Monday night in what police said was a targeted killing. Protests broke out the next morning in the capital and other cities in the Oromiya region.

Haacaaluu’s songs provided a soundtrack to a generation of young protesters whose three years of street demonstrations culminated in the resignation of the previous prime minister and the beginning of an era with greater political freedoms.

His funeral is due to take place on Thursday.