Ethiopia’s police foil latest terror attempt

August 14, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian police said Tuesday they have foiled a latest terror attempt, launched by the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

This latest attempt was targeted at bombing infrastructures and public institutions and assassinating figures, including the president of Adama University, located in Ethiopia’s second largest city of Nazareth, said a statement released from the federal police anti-terrorism taskforce.

The statement said police apprehended the coordinators of and those given missions in the foiled acts of terror as well as arms, including 9 explosives, 12 fuses and a kalashnikov.

The OLF terror ring had its hardware house in Mojo (a town about 70 km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa), its exchange spot in Nazareth and its mission targets mainly in Addis Ababa, it said.

The statement accused neighboring Eritrea of orchestrating this latest attempt of terrorism.

In January this year, a similar terror ring was dismantled by the taskforce, including one targeted against the Eighth AU Summit, held in Addis Ababa.

The OLF evolved from a political party into an armed movement 10 years ago, claiming that the rights of the Oromo people, who make up almost 40 percent of Ethiopia’s 70 million, were not being respected.

The OLF are now fighting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government for the independence of the Oromo region from the rest of Ethiopia.

(Xinhua)