Three people were shot dead in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday, doctors said, in a third straight day of political unrest that has killed at least 42 and stirred fears for the giant African country's stability.
The violence has prompted Britain to warn its citizens against non-essential travel to Ethiopia and an alarmed African Union called on both government and opposition in the country, the Horn of Africa's dominant power, to show restraint.
Witnesses said police in Addis Ababa opened fire to disperse anti-government protests in several pockets of unrest across the city, a bastion of opposition to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Doctors said that in addition to the three killed on Thursday, the overnight death toll among those wounded on Tuesday had risen to eight from three.
The violence broke out on Tuesday when riot police clashed with demonstrators apparently heeding a call by the opposition Coalition for Democracy and Unity (CUD) for renewed protests against a May 15 poll it says was rigged.
Eight people died overnight from their wounds, medical sources said on Thursday, raising the death toll from Wednesday's clashes between riot police and opposition supporters to 31. Eight were killed on Tuesday.
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