"We are deeply shocked over the tragedy, and our hearts and sympathies go to the family and the mouring community in Seattle," Gizachew Shiferaw, vice chairman of Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), said in a message from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Gizachew, who was here in Seattle a couple of months back, said it was tragic and exceedingly unbearable for a mom to lose four kids and a sister by fire, and expressed condolences on behalf of members of UDJ.

"May God comfort and give strength to Helen Gebregiorgis and the family to bear the loss," he said.

When Gizachew and other opposition leaders visited Seattle in April this year, they were accorded a warm welcome by members of the Ethiopian community.

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