HAWASSA, ETHIOPIA - People in Ethiopia's ethnic Sidama region voted on Wednesday in a referendum that could carve out a new federal state in a nation already struggling with community tensions.

With heavy security on the streets, the mood on Wednesday in the regional capital Hawassa appeared calm.

But the Sidama push for autonomy already triggered days of unrest in July that left dozens dead, and prompted the government to place Ethiopia's southern region under the control of soldiers and federal police.

Long queues at polling stations began gathering during the night, with some 2.3 million people registered to vote.

"This is a special day for me," said Fitsum Anbese, 32, a laboratory technician, who started queueing to vote two hours before daybreak, when polls opened. "I will be recognized for my identity, so I'm happy."

Away from the polling stations, the streets of Hawassa were much quieter than usual, with Wednesday declared a holiday for the vote.

With apparently overwhelming support among Sidamas to form their own state, people said they were keen to see a peaceful vote.

Many fear the harder test will come once final results are announced.

"I want all of us to respect each other and avoid divisions," said Hagersew Haso, a 30-year-old worker at the national telecommunications company.

"I want us to have and live in a peaceful, one Ethiopia."

The referendum on autonomy springs from a federal system designed to provide widespread ethnic self-rule in a hugely diverse country, Africa's second most populous, with more than 100 million people.

At present, Ethiopia is partitioned into nine semi-autonomous regional states -- with the Sidama voting for a potential tenth.

The constitution requires the government to organize a referendum for any ethnic group that wants to form a new entity. -AFP