More than 20 Ethiopian stone throwers killed by police

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Security forces opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators Wednesday in Ethiopia, killing more than 20 people in a third day of protests over election results, hospital officials said.\nHundreds more were injured, doctors said.\nThe government said its security forces acted to restore order and that it did not immediately have casualty figures.\nAn Associated Press reporter saw 11 bodies at the capital's main hospital -- at least four with gunshot wounds to the head -- and was told they were only some of the casualties. Doctors at two other hospitals reported another 11 dead.\nInformation Minister Bereket Simon, who is also the ruling party spokesman, said he did not have an accurate death toll but blamed the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy for the protests.\n"Today, some of their followers -- and some who wanted to use this opportunity for looting -- have gathered in some parts of Addis and disrupted the smooth functioning of life. So the government had to use the anti-riot police to resolve the situation," Bereket said, adding that seven buses were destroyed and businesses and banks were damaged.\nBereket rejected claims the police used excessive force.\n"These people were committed to disrupting the smooth functioning of civil life and law and order, so we had to protect people," he said.\nThe protests came despite Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's move to ban demonstrations immediately after the May 15 legislative election, in which his party won a majority of seats, according to official results. Opposition parties alleged widespread fraud and intimidation, charges the ruling party denies.\nA Coalition for Unity and Democracy leader said the party was not behind the strike.\n"Our sense is that the government is deliberately targeting us and fomenting violence to stop the electoral process and then blaming it on the opposition," said Vice Chairman Berhanu Nega. "We have been saying all along that the public must be calm and patient and wait for the outcome of the investigations into the election."\nThe shooting began after army special forces confronted the protesters. One of the injured, who refused to give his name for fear of retribution, said the troops fired on fleeing people. He said he was caught up in the protest, and was not taking part in it.\nCity police also opened fire, said another person who was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound.\n"The police were running at the crowd, firing shots. I got shot in my leg," said the 22-year-old man, who identified himself by one name, Getu. "I was just trying to get home to avoid the trouble."\nAtenyesh Mamo, a 39-year-old mother of two, said she was shot in the waist after opening the door to her home to bring her 7-year-old son in as protests escalated.\n"I don't know why they shot me, as all I was doing was looking for my son," she said while waiting for an X-ray. "I am very angry and I don't know why the soldiers want to shoot us."\nNearly an hour after the shooting, ambulances and private vehicles continued to bring the wounded to the main Black Lion Hospital. Several hundred people gathered there, some wailing, crying and shouting.\nTaxi drivers and shop owners in the capital had gone on strike Wednesday, after earlier protests that mainly involved students. The city government had threatened to revoke licenses from taxi drivers if they did not remove opposition symbols and posters from their vehicles during the election campaign.\nThe strikes occurred after two days of violent protests by university students in which one was killed, hundreds were arrested and dozens injured.\nThe elections had been seen as a test of Meles' commitment to reform his sometimes authoritarian regime. Before questions arose about the count, EU observers had called the campaign and voting "the most genuinely competitive elections the country has experienced," despite some human rights violations.