Ethiopia police battle students

Hundreds of students have been taken away

Ethiopian police have clashed with students protesting over last month's elections for a second day in the capital, Addis Ababa.

The students threw rocks at the police who responded by storming a technical college and arresting about 100 people.

The students were beaten with batons and rifle butts by police, who also fired shots in the air, witnesses said.

On Monday, a girl died in clashes which began when students defied a ban on protests following the poll.

They accused the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) of rigging the elections.

Final results are not due until 8 July, to give the National Election Board time to investigate allegations of fraud.

'Scary'

The AP news agency reports that construction workers also threw stones at the police in support of the students.

"The police came running into the college, beating students and hitting them over their heads with their batons," said Liya Tsion, 17, a student of information technology.

Meles Zenawi's alliance looks set to form the next government

"It was very scary and they were very aggressive and did not want to calm the situation down. It didn't last long, only five to 10 minutes, because we are young and they had guns and batons."

College Vice Principal Assefa Akirso said the police should have consulted teachers before storming the building.

Some 500 students were arrested on Monday.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi banned all demonstrations after opposition allegations of fraud.

Opposition gains

The BBC's Mohammed Adow in Addis Ababa says tensions have been rising since the elections were held.

The opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) has denied government claims that it incited the students to protest.

According to provisional results, the EPRDF and its allies have won 320 seats so far giving it a majority in the 547-member parliament.

The opposition have, however, won almost 200 seats - a huge gain from the 12 they had in the previous parliament.

They won all the seats in Addis Ababa by a landslide.

EU observers have voiced concern over irregular vote counting and biased reports by the state-owned media.