2018 Ethiopian rally grenade attack

2018 Ethiopian rally grenade attack
Meskel Square in 2023
Location	Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Coordinates	9°00′36″N 38°45′41″E / 9.0101°N 38.7614°E / 9.0101; 38.7614
Date	23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) 17:00 (EAT)
Target	Abiy Ahmed
Attack type	Attempt assassination
Weapons	Grenade
Deaths	2
Injured	44
Motive	Unknown
Charges	Getu Girma Birhanu Jafar Tilahun Getachew Bahiru Tollosa Desalegn Teafaye

On 23 June 2018, a large popular pro-government rally at Meskel Square for the support of political reform of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, was attacked by an assailant using a grenade.^[1] The grenade exploded just 17 metres away from the stage.^[2] Shortly afterwards, the assailant was taken away by security officials. The attack was the first attempted assassination of an Ethiopian national leader in modern Ethiopian history, after similar incidents during Haile Selassie and Derg era.

The attack resulted in the deaths of two people and injured 44 other people, although Ahmed was unharmed.^[3] Local media reported that the assailant wore a police uniform, and had tried to throw the grenade toward the stage where the Prime Minister and other officials were located.

In September 2018, the national prosecutors charged five suspects in the case with terrorism, linking them to the Oromo Liberation Front who sought the party assuming its leadership in the country after long decade ban by EPRDF regime.^[3]