At least 24 dead in Ethiopia violence

ADDIS ABABA – At least 24 people were killed and several hundred wounded after Ethiopian police fired on crowds during demonstrations against alleged fraud in disputed elections last month, hospital sources said.

Doctors at three hospitals in central Addis Ababa told AFP the 24 had either been brought to their facilities dead or died shortly after arriving following clashes in the downtown area between security forces and protesters. Eleven of the dead were at the Black Lion Hospital where at least 100 injured people, many with gunshot wounds, crowded the emergency room, according to an AFP correspondent who saw the bodies.Another eight dead were at the Saint Paulus hospital and five, including two women, were at the Zewditu hospital, doctors at those facilities said.A doctor at Zewditu said the hospital had treated “several hundred” people for injuries caused by bullets and the AFP correspondent said there were more than 40 injured people, most with gunshot wounds, at Saint Paulus.The violence was the worst in the Ethiopian capital since 2001 when an extended strike by University of Addis Ababa students led to riots in which more than 30 people were killed.Witnesses said the dead and injured were caught in clashes between police and rock-throwing protesters in three downtown districts, particularly in the Mercato area where diplomatic sources said a bus had been set on fire.Three people being treated for gunshot injuries sustained in the Mercato area at the Black Lion hospital denied having been involved in any demonstration.”I was looking for my son, I opened the door and I was shot,” said 39-year-old Ateneyesh Mamo, a mother of two who was shot in the pelvis.”I’m very angry because I wasn’t protesting, I wasn’t doing anything, I was just looking for my seven-year-old son,” she said.”I don’t understand what happened.”Two day labourers, 22-year-old Getu and 25-year-old Abebe, who were shot in the right leg and shoulder respectively, echoed her complaints, saying they had been simply walking along streets when they were fired on.The government defended the actions of security forces which they said were necessary to prevent “hooligans” from looting and destroying property and blamed the opposition for the violence.- Nampa-AFPEleven of the dead were at the Black Lion Hospital where at least 100 injured people, many with gunshot wounds, crowded the emergency room, according to an AFP correspondent who saw the bodies.Another eight dead were at the Saint Paulus hospital and five, including two women, were at the Zewditu hospital, doctors at those facilities said.A doctor at Zewditu said the hospital had treated “several hundred” people for injuries caused by bullets and the AFP correspondent said there were more than 40 injured people, most with gunshot wounds, at Saint Paulus.The violence was the worst in the Ethiopian capital since 2001 when an extended strike by University of Addis Ababa students led to riots in which more than 30 people were killed.Witnesses said the dead and injured were caught in clashes between police and rock-throwing protesters in three downtown districts, particularly in the Mercato area where diplomatic sources said a bus had been set on fire.Three people being treated for gunshot injuries sustained in the Mercato area at the Black Lion hospital denied having been involved in any demonstration.”I was looking for my son, I opened the door and I was shot,” said 39-year-old Ateneyesh Mamo, a mother of two who was shot in the pelvis.”I’m very angry because I wasn’t protesting, I wasn’t doing anything, I was just looking for my seven-year-old son,” she said.”I don’t understand what happened.”Two day labourers, 22-year-old Getu and 25-year-old Abebe, who were shot in the right leg and shoulder respectively, echoed her complaints, saying they had been simply walking along streets when they were fired on.The government defended the actions of security forces which they said were necessary to prevent “hooligans” from looting and destroying property and blamed the opposition for the violence.- Nampa-AFP