Explosion hits Ethiopia PM rally

ADDIS ABABA - An explosion has shaken a rally for Ethiopia's new PM Abiy Ahmed which was being attended by thousands of people in Addis Ababa.

Mr. Ahmed was taken away by security personnel immediately after his speech, which he gave in the Ethiopian capital's Meskel Square.

Local media reports said several people had been hurt.

Mr. Ahmed became prime minister after his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned in February.

The Addis Standard news website quoted a police officer as saying it was a "minor explosion" and "only a few were hurt".

Abiy is the country's first leader from the ethnic Oromo group, which has been at the centre of nearly three years of anti-government protests that have left hundreds of people dead.

Many of the protesters have complained of marginalisation.

The Ethiopian government has been accused of human rights violations including torture and extrajudicial killing of political dissidents.