26 hurt as Ethiopian protesters, police clash
Jan 20, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Police opened fire on stone-throwing protesters in Ethiopia’s capital Friday, wounding up to 26 people, witnesses and doctors said, as annual religious processions were turned into political protests for a second straight day.
Demonstrations were reported in several neighborhoods across Addis Ababa, and riot police were driving through the city. Some of the police trucks appeared to be carrying people wounded from the clashes, though their destination was not immediately clear.
Police officials said they would release a statement on the clashes later Friday.
Doctors at the main Menelik Hospital said they were treating 20 people with gunshot wounds, two of whom were in surgery. Other hospitals also reported receiving six more wounded people, but none of the doctors would give their names for fear of arrest.
Some of those undergoing treatment said the police opened fire indiscriminately.
Other witnesses described how protesters were throwing stones and the police responded with gunfire.
The protesters were shouting slogans denouncing the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, who was leading the religious observations, a witness said, also asking not to be named for fear of retribution.
The church patriarch, Abune Paulos, has been criticized by opposition supporters for being too close to Ethiopia’s ruling party.
Minor protests began Thursday afternoon during Timkat, one of Ethiopia’s most important religious observances.
Traditionally, tens of thousands of members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church march through the streets carrying replicas of the Arc of the Covenant, which they believe is kept safe in northern Ethiopia.
During Thursday’s protests, marchers began chanting opposition political slogans and throwing stones at police, a police statement said.
The police used live ammunition to quell the demonstrations, shooting one man in the pelvis and leaving three others seriously wounded, the injured man, Pedros Gizaw, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Political unrest in Ethiopia began in June 2005 following disputed elections that returned the governing party to power and led to 88 protesters being killed by security forces.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi ordered the arrest of most senior opposition leaders and the editors of several independent newspapers. They have been charged with treason and genocide, a move that has sparked international criticism.
Meles has also banned political demonstrations, but opposition supporters appear to be mounting protests under the cover of Timkat, which was scheduled to end Friday.
(ST/AP)