Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of attack plot, seizes weapons
August 15, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia said Wednesday it uncovered a plot to bomb public buildings in the capital, and accused bitter rival Eritrea of being behind it. Eritrea denied the allegations.
Demsash Hailu, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s federal police, said security forces seized a cache of weapons -including nine explosive devices – and arrested several people last week. He said the suspects were allegedly planning to bomb buildings in the capital, Addis Ababa. Further details weren’t not available.
The state-run Ethiopian News Agency blamed Eritrea.
“This latest attempt of terrorism was found to be an orchestration of the rogue government in Asmara, which handed down the mission to the Oromo Liberation Front,” ENA said. The front is fighting for greater autonomy in the ethnically Oromo regions of Ethiopia.
Eritrean official Yemane Gebremeskel said the accusations were “ridiculous.”
“Ethiopia fabricates accusations everyday,” he said. “They want regime change in Eritrea.”
Relations between the two countries are tense and both accuse each other of supporting rebel groups on each other’s soil. The nations fought a border war in 1998-2000 that cost tens of thousands of lives.
(AP)