Ethiopia nabs 'coup plotters'

2005-10-19 13:28

Addis Ababa - Ethiopian police said on Wednesday they have arrested 34 members and supporters of the country's main opposition party on weapons charges amid government claims the group is attempting to foment a coup.

Citing police officials, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency reported the backers of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) had been detained in the southern Oromo region.

"The CUD members were caught in possession of 23 rifles, five pistols, three hand grenades, other firearms and 626 rounds of ammunition," it said, adding that the arrests were made after police were tipped to the suspects' "plans of violence".

The detentions come amid a CUD boycott of parliament over alleged massive fraud in disputed May 15 elections and calling for the formation of national unity government to hold new polls over vehement objections from the ruling party.

A plot to overthrow government?

Ethiopian officials have repeatedly accused the CUD of plotting to overthrow the government by force with its continued protests over the election results.

Nearly 100 CUD members have been detained on weapons charges since September despite strenuous denials of any wrongdoing by the group's leaders.

Last week, lawmakers voted to strip boycotting MPs of their parliamentary immunity, sparking charges that the government was preparing a harsh crackdown on its political foes.

Protests over the election results, which gave the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies 370 of the 547 seats in parliament, turned deadly in June when police opened fire on crowds in the capital, killing at least 37 people.

The CUD took 109 seats in parliament but, along with its chief ally the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces, claim to have won the election outright.

- AFP