By Agencies
A high ranking officer in the Ethiopian army was shot dead last night with several others as government retaliated against soldiers who wanted to stage a coup.’
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed blamed the attempted coup on a Brigadier General. The failed coup in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara regional state government led to four people being killed, including Ethiopia’s Army Chief of Staff and the head of an important region, the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s confirmed Sunday.
The incident began on Saturday evening in Bahir Dar, the capital of Amhara, where the region’s President Ambachew Mekonnen and Amhara Regional Government Office Advisor Ezez Wassie were killed from gunshots. “Regional Attorney General Migbaru Kebede sustained heavy injuries and is undergoing medical treatment,” the Prime Minister’s office said. Meanwhile in the country’s capital Addis Ababa, the Army Chief of Staff General Seare Mekonnen and retired Major General Gezai Abera were killed at Seare’s home by his bodyguard.
“The attack was committed by General Seare’s bodyguard who has also been arrested,” the statement added. Ahmed blamed the attempted coup on a Brigadier General named Asaminew Tsige and others. Tsige has been serving as the regional government’s Peace and Security Bureau head after being given amnesty and released from prison last year. The situation in the Amhara — located in northwestern part of Ethiopia and is one of nine regional states in the country — is now under full control of the Federal Government, the statement added. The Prime Minister “conveys his deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” it said. On Saturday, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa issued a security alert saying it was aware of shots being fired in the capital, as well as violence in and around Bahir Dar.
