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Ethiopian police kill 20 protesters, rights group says

Ethiopian police opened fire yesterday on stone-throwing protesters in the central business district, leaving at least 20 people dead, the independent Ethiopian Human Rights Council said.

An Associated Press reporter saw eight bodies, many with gunshot wounds, but was told they were only some of the casualties from a third day of protests in the capital over election results.

The protests have erupted despite Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's move to ban demonstrations immediately after the May 15 legislative election. Meles' party won a majority of seats in the election, according to official results. Opposition parties say there was widespread fraud and intimidation, charges the ruling party denies.

Dozens of people were wounded in yesterday's melee with gunshots to the chest, legs, arms and back. Most of the victims were young men.

Abebe Terfe, executive secretary of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, said 20 people were killed in the clashes in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Ambulances brought the wounded to the city's main hospital. Several hundred people gathered there, some wailing, crying and shouting.

Taxi drivers and shop owners went on strike yesterday to protest what the opposition says was widespread rigging of the elections. The strikes -- organized through handwritten notes and cellphone text messages -- occurred after two days of violent protests by university students.
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