3 more killed in political riots in Ethiopia - Print Version

3 more killed in political riots in Ethiopia

The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2005

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia Children were among the wounded and doctors said three people were killed Thursday as police tried to put down political protests in Ethiopia.

The state-run television, quoting the federal police, said two people were killed Thursday.

The renewed violence came a day after police shot and killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more, according to doctors who refused to give their names for fear of reprisals. The government has said that casualty figure was exaggerated and blamed its opposition for the violence.

The violence erupted over protests about May 15 elections that gave Prime Minister Zenawi Meles and his Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front control of nearly two-thirds of Parliament.

Opposition parties say the vote and counting were marred by fraud, intimidation and violence and they accuse the ruling party of rigging the elections.

The election had been seen as a test of Meles's commitment to reform. The West has praised him as a new kind of African leader, but his government has been accused of human rights abuses.

The victims of the violence Thursday were shot in Old Airport, a wealthy neighborhood where many foreign expatriates live, according to doctors at the Black Lion and Zewditu hospitals. Sporadic gunfire was heard near the French and Dutch embassies.

The wounded included a 7-year-old girl who lost an eye after police hit her with a baton. An 11-year-old boy was shot in the stomach when he left his home to watch police chasing a group of young men, said his mother, a 33-year-old seamstress.

Businesses were closed and taxis were off the streets.

Also, at least seven prisoners were killed and at least 26 others were wounded in an incident at Kaliti prison, the federal police said.

Officials said that they were unable to say whether the prison incident was linked to the continuing violence in the capital.