ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia has released another 1,721 people detained during clashes between police and protesters earlier this month which left at least 42 people dead, state television has said.
The latest release brings to 4,435 those freed from jail in recent days after the crackdown by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government on unrest over the disputed May 15th election.
"Those who have been released from detention are those who were found not to have been involved in the rioting," state TV said late on Saturday, quoting police. Opposition and diplomatic sources believe several thousand more are still in jail.
At least 42 people were shot dead over several days of confrontation between police and demonstrators after the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) called for new protests against alleged election fraud.
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government denies rigging the ballot that gave former rebel leader Mr Meles another five-year term in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country.
Most of the opposition leaders are in jail. Mr Meles has said they will be charged with treason for inciting insurrection.
The latest unrest in Ethiopia followed the deaths of 36 people in June in similar protests over the election. Most of the violence has been in Addis Ababa.
The troubles have fuelled fears for stability in the Horn of Africa's traditionally dominant power and prompted western donors to urge both government and opposition to show restraint.
Prime Minister Meles, once hailed by the West as part of a "new generation" of African leaders but now under pressure over his democratic credentials, has ordered an inquiry into both bouts of unrest.
Eritrea has condemned neighbouring Ethiopia for its "bloody suppression and atrocities".
A statement from Eritrea's information ministry also lambasted Mr Meles for "farcical" recent elections where he won another five-year term.
Both ruled by ex-rebel movements, the Horn of Africa nations have long had tense relations, which burst into open antagonism during a 1998-2000 border war in which 70,000 people died.
Recent military manoeuvres on both sides of the unmarked 1,000km (620 mile) frontier have raised fears of a repeat.