Ethiopia admits detaining ‘terrorist suspects’

THE Ethiopian government acknowledged detaining 41 suspected international terrorists from 17 countries and said foreign investigators were given permission to question them, according to an official statement published yesterday.

The statement comes a week after an investigation into the transfer of terror suspects from Kenya to Somalia and eventually to Ethiopia. Ethiopian officials at the time denied any suspects were in custody, but US officials said they had questioned some of the suspects.

Human rights groups have called the detentions and transfers a violation of international law.