Addis Ababa rocked by blasts

2006-03-27 12:20

Addis Ababa - One person was killed and three wounded on Monday when twin explosions rocked the Ethiopian capital, according to federal police, who said they were investigating the cause of the blasts.

The first blast, whose origin is yet to be determined, occurred about a kilometre south of Meskel Square in the centre of Addis Ababa, police spokesperson Demsach Hailu told AFP.

"An explosion occurred in a minibus at around 09:00. One person died, three others wounded," he told AFP.

Demsach said a second explosion rocked a government-owned slaughterhouse in the capital but there were no casualities or damage.

"I think the explosions are due to criminal acts but the cases are under investigation. They are not accidents, I think," he told AFP.

Explosions have been common in the Ethiopian capital in recent months and authorities have heaped blame on separatist rebels of the Oromo Liberation Front and Somali radical Islamist group, al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, but there has not been concrete evidence linking the two groups.

- AFP