An assailant geared up in a police regalia hurled a grenade at a rally by Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Saturday, killing at least one person.
According to officials, witnesses and state media; there was a stampede as panicked people rushed for their safety. The rally was attended by myriads of people at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.
It was Abiy’s initial public speech in the capital since he took office in April. More than 150 people were injured according to the government officials. Rally organisers said the Prime Minister had been targeted but was not injured.
The deputy police commissioner for the Capital City, Addis Ababa and eight other police and security officials were apprehended on suspicion of involvement in the attack, state television quoted the minister of communications as saying.
Abiy, a former soldier; Minister of Science and Technology and the vice president of the Oromia region succeeded Hailemariam Desalegn who resigned in the middle of a wave of anti-government protests led by the country’s two largest ethnicities that commenced in 2015 and left many people dead.
After the blast, the Prime Minister said in a dreadful address to the nation that this commotion was a “well-orchestrated attack.”
“The casualties are martyrs of love,unity and peace,” he said, urging Ethiopians not to be discouraged and work towards reforming the country. The explosion went off immediately after Mr Abiy had concluded his speech, which supporters described as “unifying and hopeful.”
The Prime Minister was dressed casually in a T-shirt. He was addressing a crowd of supporters carrying signs saying, ‘One Love, One Ethiopia’
He promised tens of thousands supporters at the rally that change was coming after years of anti-government tensions.
“For the past 100 years, hate has done a great deal of damage to us,” he said.
After taking office Abiy, one of the youngest leaders in Africa, announced the release of plethora of prisoners; the opening of state owned companies to private investment and he surprised many Ethiopians as a critical player in the regional stance of fighting against terrorism; and taking effective step toward calming tensions with Eritrea over the disputed border. He said his state would wholly accept the terms of a peace treaty signed in 2000.