Grenade blast wounds 13 ahead of Ethiopian polls

ADDIS ABABA – A grenade explosion injured 13 people in an Ethiopian region near the border with Eritrea, a government spokesman said Thursday, three days ahead of the country’s elections.

Commmunications Minister Bereket Simon said the grenade was hurled at bus passengers late Wednesday in the Tigray region.

“The explosion has injured 13 people. Twelve of them are already out of hospital since their injuries were light,” he told AFP, adding that police were carrying out investigations.

The attack was the third of its kind since April.

On Thursday, state media reported that a man accused of throwing grenades at a political rally earlier this month was sentenced to death by a court in the central Oromiya region.

Last month, five people were killed and 20 injured when a bomb blast ripped through a cafe in Tigray region.

Ethiopians go to the polls on Sunday, the first national elections since 2005 when the opposition recorded its best ever score, but accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of rigging the vote, sparking unrest which claimed some 200 lives.

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Posted by farajat on May 21 2010 Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry