ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia The Woyanne regime on Tuesday warned of an “imminent” terrorist attack and urged its citizens to be vigilant but did not elaborate on the nature of the risk.
“There is proven evidence that a plot to undertake a terrorist attack in Ethiopia exists at this very moment,” the National Anti-terrorism Taskforce warned in a statement received by AFP here.
“We urge the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with security officials in foiling this imminent attack,” it added.
A series of bomb blasts have rocked the Ethiopian capital this year with authorities blaming neighbouring Eritrea, along with secessionist groups such as the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Front.
In September, a bomb explosion inside a bar in Addis Ababa killed four people and injured 24 others, and in May, a bomb went off on a minibus near the foreign ministry, killing six people, including a US national.
Three people were also killed and 18 wounded in bomb blasts that simultaneously ripped through petrol stations in the capital earlier this year.
Relations between Asmara and Addis Ababa have been frosty since they fought a devastating 1998-2000 border war that claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. The dispute is yet to be resolved.
The purported terrorist threat came as Ethiopia’s main opposition party expressed concern over shrinking political freedom following the arrest of another opposition party’s leader.