At least 22 dead in Ethiopia clash
Street protests over disputed elections
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The death toll from clashes between protesters and security forces in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa has risen to at least 22 in a third day of unrest following a disputed election.
At least another 100 were wounded Wednesday when government troops fired into crowds, Reuters quoted medics and witnesses as saying.
Many of them were wounded by gunshots to the chest, legs, arms and back, The Associated Press reported. Most of the victims were young men.
The protests erupted Monday despite Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's move to ban demonstrations immediately after the May 15 legislative election.
Preliminary results from the election board showed the ruling party and its allies have enough seats to form the next government in the Horn of Africa nation of 72 million people, the continent's top coffee producer.
Opposition parties say there was widespread fraud and intimidation, charges the ruling party denies.
Official results are due on July 8.
The elections had been seen as a test of Meles' commitment to reform his sometimes authoritarian regime, analysts said.
Before questions surfaced about the count, European Union observers had called the campaign and voting "the most genuinely competitive elections the country has experienced," despite some human rights violations.
But opposition and ruling parties have alleged that gunmen intimidated voters, people were forced to vote for certain parties, ballot boxes were stuffed or disappeared, and the number of ballots in some constituencies exceeded the number of registered voters.
Ethiopia's state radio reported late Monday that 370 students had been arrested and 50 "hooligans" detained for attempting to take advantage of the chaos. Another 150 students were arrested elsewhere in the country, a later statement said.
Wednesday's killings were the worst in Addis Ababa since police and security guards killed 41 people during April 2001 riots that followed a wave of student protests.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
