The U.S. will be sending FBI experts to Ethiopia to help investigate a grenade attack at a rally for new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, state-affiliated media stated on Monday.
On Saturday a grenade exploded only moments after Abiy had finished addressing the crowd at the rally.
Abiy at recent times has drawn large support from the people as a result of his push for radical political and economic reforms, including a peace deal with arch-enemy Eritrea.
According to Reuters, thirty people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack that killed two and wounded 156 in Addis Ababa’s packed Meskel Square. Nine police officers have also been detained over the security lapse, officials said.
“The U.S. government said it is sending FBI experts,” the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported.
U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce Gilbert Kaplan made the offer while talking to Ethiopia’s minister of foreign affairs, Workneh Gebeyehu, on Monday, Fana added.
However, there is still no confirmation from the U.S. embassy in Addis, or from Washington. Ethiopia is considered to be one of Washington’s main allies in the region, particularly in the fight against militants in neighboring Somalia.
Security officials have not said publicly who might be responsible for the attack.
Abiy who took office in April vowed to bring more transparency to a country that has been wracked by political unrest since 2015.
Reuters reports that since the beginning of the year Ethiopia has released thousands of jailed dissidents and has made large policy shifts which include the partial privatization of Ethiopia’s state-run telecoms monopoly and state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, loosening the government’s grip on the economy.
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