June 10, 2005
An uneasy calm
There was a welcome break in the hostilities yesterday as an uneasy calm settled on Addis. It could have been because people were still stunned after seeing the images of the dead and injured from Wednesday's clashes. It could also have been because the army started patrolling the city in armoured personnel carriers.
I was walking past the main stadium when I saw a line of four of them trundling through Meskel Square. It was shocking to see them there - the scene of last month's peaceful rallies, the Bob Marley concert earlier this year, the annual Meskel celebrations and the Great Ethiopian Run every September. The military vehicles dwarfed the regular traffic, looking a little like tanks with the top cut off.
It was almost a relief when the political parties went back to their claims and counter-claims about the alleged arrests of opposition politicians, and news of a court ruling against the national election board.
Here are some of the headlines:
Ethiopia Stores Closed After Riots (AP)
Most stores were shuttered Thursday and families collected the dead for burial following riots over election results and government warnings that any more civil unrest would be dealt with sternly.
US urges restraint by all sides in Ethiopia (Reuters)
The violence in Ethiopia that has left dozens dead in unrest sparked by last month's disputed elections is unacceptable and the government and protesters should show restraint, the White House said today. "Everybody needs to refrain from violence and exercise restraint," Scott McClellan, the White House spokesperson, told reporters while travelling with president George W Bush in Ohio.
Ethiopia: Arrests follow bloodshed (CNN)
Ethiopian security forces held a number of opposition leaders under house arrest Thursday, a day after police and troops fired into crowds killing at least 22 people in the country's worst bloodshed in four years. Troops patrolled deserted streets and, for a second day, most shops were closed.
Posted by aheavens at June 10, 2005 4:59 AM