Ethiopia bids to quell violence

Ethiopia bids to quell violence

Troops have been out on the streets trying to prevent unrestSporadic violence was reported in Ethiopia on Saturday as police and troops tried to quell unrest blamed for at least 46 deaths this week.
Clashes continued on Saturday in the town of Debre Berhan, 150km (93 miles) north of the capital Addis Ababa, according to a human rights group.
Violence erupted on Tuesday after opposition parties accused the government of rigging elections.
Many shops in Addis Ababa are shut and there are no taxis on the streets.
'Stirred up'
Government forces surrounded university student compounds in the northern towns of Bahir Dar and Awassa in an attempt to prevent further unrest. Four people were killed in Bahir Dar in violence on Friday.
The protests came over the country's disputed 15 May elections, which saw Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front take control of two-thirds of the country's parliament.
The unrest is the worst disturbance in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country since protests first ignited after the May elections, when some 36 people died and hundreds were arrested.

State television said this week's unrest was stirred up by opposition politicians, many of whom have been arrested.
Clashes took place in Debre Berhan on Saturday between security forces and opposition supporters on Saturday, a human right group member told AP under condition of anonymity.
"There was shooting. We believe there may be casualties," they said. No casualties had been confirmed.
Residents of Addis Ababa feared more unrest despite calmness on the streets. Gunshots had been reported overnight in the district of Mercato.
"It is quiet now but it may start again after some time," engineer Girma Teshome, 30, told Reuters. "It could be quiet for a month then erupt again."
The unrest has sparked fears the country may be moving into a period of more authoritarian rule.
Ambassadors from 21 countries which have given aid to the drought-ravaged country issued a statement expressing dismay at the violence, and calling for an urgent investigation.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4410216.stm