Five separate explosions hit Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday, killing one person and injuring at least 14 others, police said.

Police said in a statement that one person was killed and three others injured when the first explosion occurred in a minibus at around 9:00 AM (06:00 GMT).

Over the next few hours in different parts of the capital, separate explosions hit a small cafe, a guard shack, a slaughterhouse and outside a house in a residential suburb, said the police statement, which was read on state television.

"The explosions which caused loss of life and destruction of property are aimed at disrupting the peaceful lives of citizens," it said.

The explosions were "deliberate attempt bent on prohibiting the public from doing their day-to-day activities while they were targeted civilians and public properties," the statement said.

Police are launching an extensive investigation and man-hunt to catch the perpetrators, it said.

It said police called on the public to calm down and to tip off whenever they got information leading to terrorist acts.

On March 7, three separate explosions hit a restaurant, a market and outside a school, leaving at least four people injured. Four days later, police said the plastic C-4 explosives used in those blasts were smuggled from neighboring Eritrea and used by what it called Eritrean-backed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

The OLF evolved from a political party into an armed movement nine years ago, claiming that the rights of the Oromo people, who make up almost 40 percent of Ethiopia's 70 million, were not being respected.

The OLF are now fighting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government for the independence of the Oromo region from the rest of Ethiopia.

In recent months, tensions have grown with renewed military buildup along the Ethio-Eritrea border.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)