Several people were killed and injured in a grenade explosion at a rally attended by thousands in Addis Ababa on Saturday, Ethiopias new reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his chief of staff said. The rally was being held in Ethiopias capital in support of the 41-year-old ex-soldier who has outlined a series of radical reforms since taking office in April. "A few Ethiopians were injured. There are a few people who lost their lives," Abiy said in a televised address following the explosion, which occurred minutes after he finished his speech at the capitals Meskel Square. Abiy described the incident as "an unsuccessful attempt by forces who do not want to see Ethiopia united." "Some whose heart is filled with hate attempted a grenade attack. HE PM Abiy is safe. All the casualties are martyrs of love & peace. HE PM sends his condolences to the victims. The perpetrators will be brought to justice," the PM’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said on his Twitter account. Seyoum Teshome, a member of the organizing committee, also said it was a grenade attack. “Someone tried to hurl it to the stage where the prime minister was in," Seyoum told Reuters. "I saw some five people injured following the blast.” Saturdays rally began as a show of exuberance, with supporters wearing clothes displaying Abiys image and carrying signs saying "One Love, One Ethiopia." In a cowboy hat and T-shirt, Abiy told the tens of thousands of supporters that change was coming and there was no turning back. "For the past 100 years hate has done a great deal of damage to us," he said, stressing the need for even more reforms. After the explosion the state broadcaster quickly cut away from coverage of the rally, which broke up with people singing, chanting and going back to their homes. Abiy stunned Ethiopians this month by saying he was prepared to fully implement a peace deal with Eritrea signed in 2000 and meant to end a two-year war between the country and its neighbor that devolved into a stalemate resulting in huge military build up by both countries. It is one of many policy shifts announced since Abiy took office, moves that could reshape Ethiopia’s relations with its neighbors and have equally dramatic impacts inside the country of 100 million people.