Tue. May 30, 2006

Serious blasts in Ethiopia’s town of Jijiga in eastern region left at least 42 people injured at the weekend, a state Ethiopian news agency reported.

The three blasts which occurred at the same time on Saturday night, hit a hotel and two restaurants in Jijiga, about 720km southeast Addis Ababa.

Somalia president Abdillahi Hassan said that “Forty-two people have been injured in three simultaneous explosions that occurred at Central Hotel, London Cafe and Family Cafe.

Some 23 people out of the 42 injured in the capital city, were wounded seriously. President Abdillahi, referred to the blasts as "futile attempts of anti-peace forces to disrupt the gains acquired by the [current] government."

Several anonymous explosions have hit Addis Ababa and other parts of Ethiopia amid heightened political tension since the beginning of the year. Two weeks ago, nine blasts rocked a crowded cafe, a bus station and buses, killing at least four people and wounding more than 40. Those explosions brought the death toll to at least 11.

Ethiopia’s violence began when some least 84 people died during protests in October 2005, against alleged fraud in May elections.

Currently, 111 defendants, including nearly the entire leadership of the main opposition party, are accused of fomenting a post-election coup. Most of them have been detained since November.

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