ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – A small explosion shook the Bole district of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday, witnesses and authorities said, lightly injuring one policeman at the scene during attempts at a controlled detonation.
The government has accused the northern Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of planning attacks in Addis Ababa, but there was no immediate indication the incident was related to their month-long war in northern Ethiopia.
Witnesses told Reuters that people called police after a metal scrap collector found an explosive device in a pair of shoes. The explosive detonated in the hand of an officer trying to defuse it, they said.
“A bomb disposal squad was on their way to the scene to defuse the bomb, and suddenly the bomb has exploded for unknown reasons. One individual suffers a minor injury,” Addis Ababa police said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia’s government.
Last month, an explosion under an Addis Ababa bridge injured one man.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom,; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
