Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Friday the street violence "orchestrated by the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD)" has been put "under control," the same day as violence spread outside the capital and killed four people.

In a nationwide televised address, Meles said the CUD is " accountable" for the violence erupted Tuesday in the country's capital Addis Ababa.

"The attempts by leaders of the CUD to divide the people along ethnic lines and create social isolation have failed," he said.

"Though CUD leaders tried to agitate residents of the Addis Ababa city to join their violent acts, their attempts have failed, " he said.

However, police said in a statement Friday at least four people were killed and 11 wounded in northwest Ethiopia's Bahir Dar town on Friday, in deadly street violence between security forces and opposition demonstrators. Several policemen and soldiers also sustained wounds and physical injuries.

Since Tuesday, CUD members and supporters took to the street over the contested results of the May 15 parliamentary election, leading to bloodshed between riot police and protesters in the country's capital Addis Ababa. At least 24 civilians and 7 police officers died in clashes, according to city police.

Concerning the current situation with Eritrea, Meles said, "the Ethiopian government is looking all matters with utmost patience."

However, he said, "the Ethiopian defense forces have all the necessary capability to foil any aggressive attempt from the Eritrean side."

It is reported that there were military movements involving tanks, air defense missiles and troops near their unmarked 1,000 km-long frontier during the past two weeks.

Earlier last month, Eritrea banned air patrols over a 25 km- long temporary security zone (TSZ) along the 1,000 km-long frontier.

Eritrea's move increased concerns that the Red Sea state was trying to "cover up" troop redeployment to launch a "possible attack" against Ethiopia, diplomats here said.

Source: Xinhua