2 bombs defused in the Ethiopian capital – govt

September 16, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Two bombs were defused in the Ethiopian capital and three suspects were arrested in connection with what the government said Sunday was a thwarted attack.

Authorities defused the two devices in the Lideta district of the capital of Addis Ababa on Saturday, government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle said. He did not provide information on the three suspects arrested or the area where police believed the devices were to be detonated.

Security has been a top concern of the Ethiopian authorities during the country’s millennium celebrations, which began last Tuesday and saw tens of thousands celebrating in the streets. Ethiopia follows the Coptic Christian calendar, which is seven years behind the one used by most of the rest of the world.

The east African nation is currently fighting at least two insurgent groups and has a tense relationship with its tiny neighbor Eritrea, which fought a bloody battle for independence from Ethiopia that only ended in 1993.

The two countries are engaged in a border dispute and accuse each other of meddling in Somalia, where Ethiopia has troops supporting the shaky U.N.-backed transitional government and Eritrea provides weapons to Islamic fighters, according to the U.N.

(AP)