One person died and scores of others were hurt after a grenade blast at new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first mass rally in the capital that sent crowds fleeing in panic. Abiy had just wrapped up his speech before tens of thousands of people in the heart of Addis Ababa when the explosion went off, sending droves of supporters towards the stage as the prime minister left hurriedly, an AFP correspondent said.
/ AFP PHOTO / YONAS TADESSE
(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is monitoring the situation in Ethiopia after an explosion at a political rally in the capital Addis Ababa on Saturday that has reportedly left one dead and at least 154 injured.
“The Philippine Embassy in Cairo is checking whether any of the 800 members of the Filipino Community were among those injured in the explosion,” said a DFA release.
Ambassador to Cairo Leslie Baja, who has jurisdiction over Ethiopia, said the explosion was caused by a grenade that was hurled at supporters of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who were gathered for a rally at Meskel Square.
The Philippine Embassy has already advised Filipinos in Addis Ababa to stay away from any public gatherings and to report any Filipino who may have been among those injured in the explosion, Ambassador Baja said.
The organizer of the pro-government rally in Ethiopia that was hit by a grenade blast Saturday said the attacker had aimed for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed but was stopped by police.
Seyoum Teshome told AFP he watched from the stage as a scuffle erupted when someone attempted to hurl a grenade towards the area where Abiy had just delivered a speech to a crowd of tens of thousands in Addis Ababa.
“At that moment, four or more police, they jumped on him and during that scuffle the grenade went off,” Seyoum said.
Ethiopia’s government has given few details of the incident, which Abiy blamed on “anti-peace forces”.
The attack marred an event aimed at building support for Abiy, who has pushed an aggressive reform agenda since taking office in April.
Seyoum, a blogger and university professor who spent weeks in prison earlier this year during a four-month state of emergency, said most of the injuries came during the pandemonium
that erupted after the blast.
Thousands of people in Meskel Square rushed the stage as Abiy made a hasty getaway.
“Most of them were injured but not due to the grenade, but rather it was the stampede, it was just running away from that spot,” Seyoum said.
Abiy was elected leader of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) after his predecessor’s February resignation that prompted the emergency declaration.
The first prime minister in modern Ethiopia from the country’s largest ethnic group the Oromo, Abiy has announced major reforms such as liberalising the economy and pushing for a rapprochement with neighbour and arch-enemy Eritrea.
But the EPRDF remains unpopular in many parts of Ethiopia, and some people at the rally chanted anti-government slogans after they stormed the stage.
(With a report from Agence France Presse)
