TPLF/Meles has now the blood of at least 82 martyrs on his hand

Ethiopian death toll mounts amid election protests
Last Updated Thu, 03 Nov 2005 08:58:12 EST
CBC News
Two more people are dead in Ethiopia, reportedly from police gunfire, in the fourth day of protests over the African country's disputed elections.

Thursday's deaths come a day after police shot and killed at least 23 people and injured at least 150 others, said doctors. Government officials maintain Wednesday's death toll stands at 11 civilians and one police officer.

The demonstrations centre around elections in May that resulted in Prime Minister Zenawi Meles' Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front taking nearly two-third of the seats in parliament. Opposition parties accuse the governing party of rigging those elections and say fraud, intimidation and violence were rampant.

Police shot Thursday's victims in a wealthy neighbourhood of the capital Addis Ababa, where many foreign expatriates live, said doctors at the Black Lion and Zewditu hospitals. Witnesses also reported hearing gunfire near the French and Dutch embassies.

The protests began Monday with a peaceful demonstration by cab drivers who honked their horns in a show support for the opposition. Police arrested 30 drivers. This may have sparked the protests that have deteriorated into clashes between protesters and police.