An Ethiopian woman shouting "murder state" as the wounded are brought to the Black Lion hospital in Addis Abeba following an opposition-led protest, November 2, 2005. At least 16 people were killed and almost 100 injured as armed police clashed with demonstrators in the Ethiopian capital, where the main opposition party has called for protests against the May elections it insists were rigged.
(AFP)
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At least 16 people were killed and almost 100 injured as armed police clashed with demonstrators in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where the main opposition party has called for protests against the May elections it insists were rigged.
The party, the Coalition of National Unity and Democracy (CUD) has had around 1,000 members, including the entire leadership, arrested in a vast nationwide operation, according to one member who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.
The latest fatalities bring to at least 24 the number of people killed in two days of unrest in Addis Ababa, where the government has vowed not to tolerate any public protests.
Wednesday's deaths were reported by medical sources in three of the city's hospitals, -- the Black Lion, St Paulus and Zewditu -- who said some of the many dozens of injured were in a critical condition.
Many of the injured at Zewditu hospital are women and young people.
The fatalities came a day after at least eight people, including two police officers, were killed and dozens wounded during similar confrontations in Addis Ababa.
There were pockets of unrest and bursts of gunfire in several parts of the capital, as armed riot police patrolled the Mercato, Mexico and Piazza areas of the city, scene of much of the unrest.
The Mercato is the hub of Addis Ababa's commercial activity and was a center of deadly election-related violence in June when police opened fire on crowds, killing at least 37 people.
Witnesses reported clashes in the northern Shola, central Eri Bekentu and eastern Kebena districts, where residents erected barricades.
A certain calm returned around midday, even though armored personnel carriers were seen speeding out from the defense ministry compound, their destination unclear.
Most shops and markets were closed.
Small groups of angry protestors were still throwing stones at police and sporadic gunfire could be heard in isolated areas in the early afternoon.
Earlier, security forces attempted to enter an area locally known as French Legation to arrest CUD Vice President Bertukane Mideksa, but were blocked.
"The youth in the area blocked the road and tried to prevent the security forces from arresting her," said witness Assefa Degefa, adding that this prompted police to fire in the air and throw tear gas canisters as protestors hurled stones.
On Tuesday, police blamed the violence on the CUD.
The government, which has accused the opposition of attempting to foment a coup, had warned that the new protest measures were unlawful and that it would take all steps necessary to preserve the peace.
Over the weekend, the CUD called on Ethiopians to boycott products of government-owned industries, to shun state-run media, to honk their horns in protest between Tuesday and Thursday.
The party also called for a five-day general strike to begin later this month.
The CUD, which officially won 109 seats in the polls, accuses the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front of rigging the elections and is boycotting parliament.
CUD lawmakers were last month stripped of their parliamentary immunity amid the allegations of plotting to overthrow the government.
Nearly 100 opposition members have been arrested on weapons charges since September, according to official figures.
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