Ethiopia: Grenade attack kills two at a concert in Bahir Dar

Security tight in Bahir Dar following a string of grenade attacks

ESAT News (May 1, 2017)

Two persons were killed and several others, including three police officer, were injured in Bahir Dar when a grenade exploded near the entrance to a concert hall on Saturday.

The concert, organized by Dashen Brewery, was under a boycotting campaign by the residents of Bahir Dar, who have also boycotted beer products by the Brewery, which is owned by the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), a member of the ruling coalition EPRDF.

The Brewery was promoting a new beer brand to give life to the loss of its business due to the boycotting campaign by the people, who see the Brewery as part and parcel of a business empire of a ruthless regime.

There is a strong anti-government stance in Bahir Dar, a city that has seen deadly anti-government protests last summer, where regime security forces killed at least 58 protesters in just one day.

Security forces in several convoys are patrolling the city and Bajaj taxis, the popular means of transportation, have been suspended. The attackers are said to have come and left on a Bajaj.

No party claimed responsibility for Saturday’s grenade attack.

A string of grenade attacks hit the cities of Bahir Dar and Gondar in recent months. A bomb was thrown at a gas station on Thursday killing one person and injuring four others, all employees of the gas station.

Over a dozen grenade attacks hit hotels and other targets in Gondar and Bahir Dar since January. At least three people have so far lost their lives in the grenade attacks.