Ethiopian lawmakers have replaced anti-terrorism legislation that had drawn criticism from rights activists, although Amnesty International said the new version still had the potential to be used against government critics.

The new law, adopted Thursday, removes text invoked to arrest scores of journalists and politicians over the years. A vaguely-worded provision to punish acts "encouraging terrorism" has been axed in favour of more specific language targeting "incitement".

The new version also guarantees workers' right to strike even if they "obstruct public services", an offence the law otherwise classifies as terrorism.

But the law also criminalises the vague act of "intimidation to commit a terrorist act."

And it empowers lawmakers to identify and ban terrorist organisations, a move used in the past to outlaw opposition parties. "I can see that there are some pro-human rights developments in the new law," Amnesty International researcher Fisseha Tekle told AFP Friday.