Explosion kills 3 in Ethiopia
2008-09-28 17:09
Addis Ababa - An explosion at a hotel in
Ethiopia's southeastern Somali region killed three people and
wounded 20 on Sunday, and police said they suspected that the rebel
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) was responsible.
Police spokesperson Densash Hailu said an explosive device had
been placed in a dustbin in front of the hotel frequented by
businessmen, government officials and locals.
The front of the hotel collapsed and the rest of the
building was damaged by the powerful explosion, Densash said.
Adjacent buildings were also damaged.
"The terrorist act perpetrated at Andenet Hotel in Jijiga on
Sunday is suspected to be the work of the ONLF rebels," Densash
told Reuters.
"Some of the injuries are very serious and the death toll is
expected to rise."
Jijiga is the capital of the arid, rocky ethnically Somali
region that borders lawless Somalia. Ethiopia routinely accuses
Horn of Africa rival Eritrea of supporting the ONLF.
The ONLF was formed in 1984. Its aims have varied between
full-scale independence to joining a "Greater Somalia" to more
autonomy within Ethiopia.
ONLF officials were not immediately available for comment.
In June last year Ethiopia launched a military offensive in
Ogaden, a province in the Somali region, after ONLF rebels
killed 74 people at a Chinese-run oilfield.