US Embassy in Ethiopia warns of attacks by Al-Shabab rebels

In this Oct. 6, 2014 photo, shows soldiers belonging to the African Union Mission in Somalia, walking through the al-Shabab stronghold of Barawe, in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia, 200 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu. (AFP)

The US Embassy in Ethiopia has warned of a possible attack by Somali militant group Al-Shabab and urged its nationals to avoid large crowds and hotels and restaurants in an upscale district of the capital Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian authorities said late last year that its security forces were on heightened alert after receiving strong evidence Al-Shabab was plotting further attacks after a botched suicide bombing in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian troops, alongside forces from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti, are part of an African Union (AU) mission fighting Al-Shabab inside Somalia. Their presence has been used by the Al-Qaeda-aligned insurgents as a rallying cry for a holy war against foreign troops on Somali soil.
“The Embassy has received threat reports of Al-Shabab’s intent to target the Bole area,” the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to a wealthy district in the capital. “Restaurants, hotels, bars, places of worship, supermarkets, and shopping malls in the Bole area should be avoided until further notice because they are possible targets for a potential imminent terrorist attack.”
In October last year, two suicide bombers belonging to the group accidentally blew themselves up while preparing to kill soccer fans during Ethiopia’s World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria.