Mysterious blast strikes Ethiopian capital

April 6, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — A small bomb exploded near a group of coffee factories in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday, but police said there were no injuries in the latest in a string of mysterious explosions to hit the city.

“Some damage was caused to buildings near the compound, but there were no injuries,” a police statement said.

The police also reported finding an explosive near a bus station earlier in the day.

The explosion was the latest in a series of explosions that began in January. Last month, five explosions on the same day in Addis Ababa killed one person and injured at least 14 others.

Although grenade attacks to settle scores are common in Ethiopia, the unexplained blasts have increased tensions in the capital, already shaken by unrest in the wake of disputed parliamentary elections last year.

Ethiopia blamed Eritrea for three separate blasts in early March that injured four people. The countries fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000 in which more than 70,000 people were killed.

The Ethiopian government has also said opposition members and Oromo Liberation Front rebels, who have been waging a low-level insurgency in southern Ethiopia since 1993, for similar attacks.

(Reuters)