Ethiopia Explosions Kill 4, Injure 42

AP on Yahoo ^ | 5/12/06 | Les Newhaus - ap

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - A series of bombs exploded in Ethiopia's capital Friday, killing four people and wounding at least 42, police and witnesses said.

Federal police spokesman Commander Demsash Hailu said the blasts were the work of an organization trying to discredit the government but did not offer specifics.

The bombings came just before Monday's anniversary of last year's general election. International observers called the balloting seriously flawed and opposition politicians have refused to take up their posts in protest of what they called government vote-rigging.

Police have blamed other small bombings in recent months on alleged militant elements of the political opposition. But with only police statements indicating Friday's attacks were politically motivated, some in the capital questioned whether the opposition was responsible for them. The previous small bombings have rarely caused injuries or caused significant damage and were not accompanied by any claims of responsibility.

"This is just a futile attempt to show the impression that there is no peace or tranquility in the city," Demsash said, while reading a government statement. "However, it is evident that the people of Addis Ababa, as usual, are leading their lives and undertaking their daily routines as normal."

Demsash said that a special investigative team would work day and night to track down those responsible. He declined to discuss suspects.

"This is just one of the situations that reveals the hopelessness of the terrorists who have been relentlessly working to disturb peace and order in the city," he added.

He set the official toll at four dead, 16 seriously injured and 26 slightly wounded.

Four bombs exploded in the morning. Another four exploded after midday. The bombs detonated across the city, with four in Addis Ababa's busy Mercato, the main shopping district.

The first blast occurred at 4:50 a.m. in one of Addis Ababa's main plazas, damaging an Ethiopian Airlines office.

The next blast damaged the headquarters of the city's electricity company, injuring seven. Then an explosion blew out the front of a city bus, also injuring seven, witnesses said.

Genet Wordofa, sitting in the hospital next to her badly injured adult son, said she was about to get on the bus when it exploded.

"I was shocked because we had just returned from a checkup at a nearby clinic and was about to get on the bus when the explosion occurred," she said. "All of a sudden my son was on the ground bleeding."

The son, Metike Ayelegine, suffered a chest injury and his hand was mangled in the explosion.

A bomb detonated outside two cafes in the Mercato, killing two people and injuring seven — five of them seriously, witnesses said.

At the Amico Cafe in the Mercato, 15-year-old Bereket Betiwibid said patrons were blown out of their chairs and two waitresses were thrown across the verandah when the bomb exploded on the sidewalk outside. Tiny holes dotted the walls where bomb fragments appeared to have hit.

In the afternoon, a third man was killed when a bomb destroyed the rear of a small bus, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.

Demsash said 16 people were injured in that blast.

A second afternoon blast destroyed a minibus taxi in front of a secondary school, witnesses said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Two more bombs detonated near the bus station in the Mercato, one in a public toilet inside a hotel, injuring three, and the second outside of a barbershop, injuring two.

"We were taking our lunch and there was a small explosion," the barber's wife, Alem Asfaw, said.

A ninth bomb that later detonated under a bridge caused no injuries or significant damage.

It was not clear which attack had caused the fourth death.

Groups often blamed for such acts include the Oromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, two groups fighting for greater autonomy for their regions. Both groups, though, have quickly claimed responsibility for attacks outside of Addis Ababa in the past. Agents from neighboring Eritrea are also frequently blamed.

[NormsRevenge]

A damaged bus by bomb in the Gotera Junction, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, May 12, 2006. One person died in the bus and 16 injured. Eight bombs exploded in Ethiopia's capital Friday, killing three people and wounding 42, a police spokesman and witnesses said. The bombs were concentrated on government buildings and public transportation, with no group claiming responsibility. A police spokesman said the bombings were clearly coordinated by one organization, but he refused to name what group may have carried out the attacks. Police have blamed other small bombings in recent months on alleged militant elements of the political opposition. But with no indication beyond police statements that they were politically motivated, the capital's residents have been left to speculate that they might be part of a government campaign to smear the opposition. (AP Photo/Leslie Neuhaus)