ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – An explosion at a hotel in Ethiopia’s southeastern Somali region killed three people and wounded 20 on Sunday, and police said they suspected the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) was responsible.

Police spokesman Densash Hailu said an explosive device had been placed in a dustbin in front of the hotel frequented by businessmen, government officials and locals.

The front of the hotel collapsed and the rest of the building was damaged by the powerful explosion, Densash said. Adjacent buildings were also damaged.

“The terrorist act perpetrated at Andenet Hotel in Jijiga on Sunday is suspected to be the work of the ONLF rebels,” Densash told Reuters.

“Some of the injuries are very serious and the death toll is expected to rise.”

Jijiga is the capital of the arid, rocky ethnically Somali region that borders lawless Somalia. Ethiopia routinely accuses Horn of Africa rival Eritrea of supporting the ONLF.

ONLF officials were not immediately available for comment.

… more from AP

Suspected terror blast in Ethiopia kills four: police chief

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — An explosion in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali province, which local authorities believe was a terrorist attack, killed at least four people Sunday, police said.

“There are now four dead and 22 wounded,” Ethiopian federal police spokesman Demsash Hailu told AFP.

“I suspect it is a terrorist action because we have some problems in this area. But there is an investigation opened. We’ll look into the matter to confirm if it is a terrorist action or an accidental explosion,” Demsash added.

“It definitely was a terrorist attack, a bomb was planted in the area,” said Yusuf Mahmud Mussai, the police chief of the Somali province.

The blast occurred near a hotel in Jijiga, police said.

The Somali province includes the region of Ogaden, which has been hit by a series of attacks attributed to separatist rebels in recent years.

The Ethiopian Woyanne military launched in May 2007 an operation against the Ogaden Nation Liberation Front (ONLF), which is seeking autonomy for the remote region bordering Somalia.

In a report released in June, the New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Ethiopian army of executing, torturing and raping civilians in the Ogaden.