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Ethiopia blames Eritrea after explosion kills 8

Blast strikes bus in northwestern province; accusation called 'total rubbish'






ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Eight people have been killed in an explosion Thursday in northwestern Ethiopia, government officials said, and Ethiopia said rival Eritrea was responsible.
Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told The Associated Press dismissed Ethiopia's accusation as: "total rubbish."
Tigray State Vice President Abadi Zemo said a bomb attached to a bus exploded in Humera, about 370 miles northwest of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Humera is in Tigray State and borders Sudan.


Federal Police spokesman Demsash Hailu said that eight people died in the explosion and 26 people wounded, including an 11-year old child.
Demsash and Abadi both said the Eritrean government is behind the blast. "There is no doubt," Abadi said.
Ethiopia and Eritrea regularly trade accusations and denials that one seeks to destabilize the other.
Eritrea gained independence from Eritrea in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war. The border between the countries was never officially demarcated, which led to a 2 1/2-year war that ended in 2000. Though the fighting has ended, the border issue continues to simmer.