Eritrea says not behind Ethiopian blasts
April 28, 2006 (ASMARA) — Eritrea on Friday flatly denied Ethiopian charges that it supplied explosives used in a recent series of mystery blasts in arch-foe Ethiopia and accused Addis Ababa of planting the bombs itself.
“There is no point for us in being involved in such kind of actions,” Information Minister Ali Abdu said in response to the allegation made Thursday by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
“Moreover, there is substantive evidence that the bombs were planted by the (Ethiopian) regime itself for a number of political agendas,” he said. “We live on the same planet, we know how this regime works.”
Ali Abdu declined to give details about the evidence of Ethiopian complicity in the blasts, more than a dozen of which have hit Addis Ababa and provincial towns killing at least seven people since January.
“The minority group in power in Ethiopia has set up an administration that is divided by ethnicity and tribalism, thereby serving as a catalyst for the disintegration of the nation,” he said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts but on Thursday, Meles told reporters that he was certain that the material used to make the explosive devices had come from Eritrea.
Ethiopia and Eritrea waged a bloody 1998-2000 war over their common border and regularly make allegations of fomenting unrest on the other’s soil.
Ethiopian officials have in the past hinted at Eritrea’s involvement in the explosions but have also suggested that indigenous seperatist groups might be responsible for them.
Earlier this month, at least six people were killed and dozens wounded when grenades exploded in bars and a market in towns in eastern and western Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa has been hit by at least 11 explosions, some attributed to grenades and others to landmines, since January, including a series of five on one day in March that killed one person and wounded 15.
Tension has been high in Addis Ababa since last year when at least 84 people died — many at the hands of police — during opposition-led protests against alleged fraud in the disputed May 2005 election.
(ST)