Wikileaks Update(13) -Ethiocables

Viewing cable 06 ADDISABABA2708, 

ETHIOPIA: RECENT BOMBINGS BLAMED ON OROMOS

06ADDISABABA2708	2006-10-06 08:53	2011-08-30 01:44	SECRET	Embassy Addis Ababa

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S E C R E T ADDIS ABABA 002708 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2016 
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV ET ER
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: RECENT BOMBINGS BLAMED ON OROMOS 
POSSIBLY THE WORK OF GOE 
 
 
Classified By: CHARGE VICKI HUDDLESTON FOR REASONS 1.4(b)AND(d). 
 
¶1. (S) SUMMARY  A series of explosions were reported in Addis 
Ababa on September 16, killing three individuals.  The GoE 
announced that the bombs went off while being assembled, and 
that the three dead were terrorists from the outlawed Oromo 
Liberation Front (OLF) with links to the Oromo National 
Congress (ONC).  An embassy source, as well as clandestine 
reporting, suggests that the bombing may have in fact been 
the work of GoE security forces.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) On September 16, three bomb explosions were reported 
in the Kara Kore area of Addis Ababa.  The explosions were 
heard at 4:45 a.m., 7:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m.  The National 
Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), together with the 
Federal Police Anti-terror Task Force later reported that the 
bombs were "part of a coordinated terror attack by the OLF 
and Sha'abiya (Eritrea) aimed at disrupting democratic 
development."  The NISS said that the intended terror plot 
had failed and the bombs had mistakenly gone off while the 
suspects were preparing them while hiding out at an illegally 
built house.  Two of the suspects died immediately, while 
another died on the way to the hospital.  One other is in 
critical condition.  The police task force reported having 
others in custody related to the plot and that evidence shows 
the terrorists had ties to Oromo groups - the Mecha and 
Tulema Association (MTA) and the ONC.  They also said that 
the bombs used contained parts sourced from Eritrea and were 
consistent with bombs used in previous terrorist attacks. 
 
¶3. (S) On September 20, Dr. Merera Gudina (strictly protect), 
the former leader of the ONC (and a typically reliable 
information source), contacted Post to report that the 
deceased had not died not while constructing a bomb, but 
rather at the hands of GoE cadres.  Dr. Merera said that the 
men had been picked up by police a week prior, kept in 
detention and tortured.  He said police then left the men in 
a house and detonated explosives nearby, killing 3 of them. 
He did not indicate whether the men were ONC or OLF 
affiliated. 
 
¶4. (S) Clandestine reporting indicates that the bombs did not 
explode inside the structure, but rather appear to have been 
placed outside and detonated. 
HUDDLESTON