Ethiopian poll clashes: 40 dead
2005-07-14 11:10
Addis Ababa - At least 40 people were killed and 74 others shot and wounded by police in post-election violence in Ethiopia last month while another 17 remain unaccounted for, a local human rights group said on Thursday.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (Ehrco) said its investigators had come up with the new death toll, which is higher than hospital officials had reported at the time, after extensive probes into the violence that erupted during protests against disputed May 15 polls.
"Based on our investigations we believe there could be more casualties, but these were the only ones we could definitely confirm," said Ehrco's executive secretary Adam Melaku.
Many injured and killed in protests
He said 17 people were still missing and unaccounted for after three days of protests that began with student demonstrations on June 6 against alleged massive vote fraud and exploded into violence when police opened fire on crowds in the capital two days later.
In the days that followed, hospital sources in Addis Ababa said 36 people had been killed on June 8 and one on June 6, making the death toll 37. The government confirmed only 30 deaths.
In addition to the deaths in Addis Ababa, the government has confirmed that police shot and killed a newly elected opposition lawmaker in southern Ethiopia on June 12. Authorities have said six police officers have been arrested in connection with the murder.
The violence prompted a massive police crackdown around the country in which thousands of people were detained, many of whom have now been released.