Police in Ethiopia are putting further pressure on the country's beleaguered media.

Hundreds of internet media outlets in Ethiopia have been charged with promoting hate and misleading information by the Ethiopian police.

The federal police force said in a statement on Wednesday that it had identified 111 online media outlets that were attempting to create differences between the government and the people, as well as between different ethnic and religious groups.

The declaration comes following a recent wave of arrests that resulted in the detention of 18 journalists and media workers, raising fears of a crackdown on critical voices.

The internet media outlets were unlicensed, according to the police statement, and were distributing false and inciteful information.

According to the BBC, a representative for the federal police department said he couldn't name the accused media outlets because the investigation was still ongoing.