Ethiopia’s army chief, Gen Seare Mekonnen, and retired Major General Gezai Abera were shot dead at Mekonnen’s residence on Saturday night by his bodyguard in the capital of Addis Ababa. The attack has been being linked to a coup attempt in the country’s Amhara region, reported Reuters.
A violent attack rattled Ethiopia’s north when the armed forces tried to take over the regional government of Amhara.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Mekonnen and another officer died trying to prevent a coup attempt against the administration in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region. The two were reportedly planning a response when his bodyguard shot him.
In a separate attack, Amhara state president Ambachew Mekonnen and his advisor were shot dead and the state’s attorney general was wounded in Amhara’s capital of Bahir Dar on Saturday evening.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office, the two attacks were linked. No further details were provided.
Abiy’s office named Amhara state security head General Asamnew Tsige as the one responsible for the attempted coup. Asamnew was released from prison last year and had been working as the head of the Amhara regional government’s Peace and Security Bureau prior to the attack.
A few weeks ago, Asamnew had openly advised the Amhara people, one of Ethiopia’s larger ethnic groups, to grab their weapons, in a video circulated on social media.
Billene Seyoum, a spokesperson for the prime minister, told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that the situation within the Amhara region is currently under full control of the Federal Government. She said several people suspected of involvement in the attacks were taken into custody and more arrest operations were underway.
During a televised press conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Abiy said that the failed coup was not committed by any ethnic group but by ill-motivated individuals.
He called on “all Ethiopians, both armed and not armed” to stand with the government and provide information to defend the unity of the country.
