This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/23/ethiopia-coup-attempt-leaves-army-chief-shot-says-pm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Ethiopia coup attempt leaves regional leader dead – reports Ethiopia coup attempt leaves regional leader dead – reports
(about 8 hours later)
The head of Ethiopia’s Amhara state and his adviser were killed during a coup attempt in their state that was orchestrated by its top general, the country’s media has reported. The chief of staff of Ethiopia’s army was shot dead in his own home by his bodyguard and a regional governor was killed when a general tried to seize control of a northern state in an attempted coup, the prime minister’s office has said.
Ambachew Mekonnen and his adviser were attacked and killed in their offices on Saturday, reports said, adding that General Asamnew Tsige, Amhara’s head of security, was leader of the putsch. Amhara is one of nine regional states in Ethiopia. The Amhara state president, Ambachew Mekonnen, and his adviser were shot dead and the state’s attorney general was wounded in Amhara’s capital, Bahir Dar, on Saturday evening, according to a statement from the office of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.
Earlier, prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, announced Ethiopia’s army chief of staff had been shot as the government thwarted the attempted coup. Abiy took to national television in the early hours of the morning dressed in military fatigues to make the announcement about Seare Mekonnen. In a separate attack on the same night, Ethiopia‘s army chief of staff, Gen Seare Mekonnen, and another retired general were shot dead in Seare’s home in Addis Ababa by his bodyguard. The two attacks were linked, the statement said, without giving details.
The internet was cut in Ethiopia and more details were not immediately available. Abiy’s office said the Amhara state security head, Genl Asamnew Tsige, was responsible for the foiled coup, without giving details of his whereabouts. Asamnew was released from prison last year, having been given an amnesty for a similar coup attempt, according to media reports.
The US embassy issued alerts about reported gunfire in the capital, Addis Ababa, and violence around Amhara’s main city, Bahir Dar. Abiy took office just over a year ago and embarked on unprecedented reforms in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country and one of its fastest-growing economies.
“The embassy is aware of reports of gunfire in Addis Ababa. Chief of mission personnel are advised to shelter in place,” the embassy said in one of its two alerts. But the premier’s shakeup of the military and intelligence services has earned him powerful enemies, while his government is struggling to rein in powerful figures in Ethiopia‘s myriad ethnic groups fighting the federal government and each other for greater influence and resources.
Earlier, Abiy’s office announced that an attempted coup had taken place in Amhara, one of nine autonomous regions in the country. A statement from his office did not give details on who was believed responsible for the attack. The shooting in Bahir Dar occurred when the state president - an ally of Abiy – was holding a meeting to decide how to put a stop to the open recruitment of ethnic Amhara militias by Asamnew, one Addis-based official told Reuters.
“The coup attempt in Amhara regional state is against the constitution and is intended to scupper the hard won peace of the region,” said the statement. Asamnew had advised the Amhara people to arm themselves in preparation for fighting other groups, in a video spread on Facebook a week earlier and seen by a Reuters reporter.
“This illegal attempt should be condemned by all Ethiopians and the federal government has full capacity to overpower this armed group.” Abiy wore military fatigues to announce the attempted coup on state television on Saturday evening. Residents of Bahir Dar, about 500km (311 miles) north-west of Addis, said there was at least four hours of gunfire on Saturday evening and some roads had been closed off.
No details were given of the targets of the attack in the second-most populous state in the country, headed by Ambachew Mekonen as regional president. “The situation in the Amhara region is currently under full control by the federal government in collaboration with the regional government,” Abiy said in the statement on Sunday.
A journalist in the regional capital, Bahir Dar, told AFP shooting had begun shortly after sunset and continued for several hours. The coup attempt comes a year after a grenade explosion at a rally Abiy was addressing left two people dead. The US embassy tweeted it had heard reports of gunfire in Addis Ababa on Saturday night, and some residents told Reuters they heard six shots in a suburb near the country’s Bole International Airport around 9.30pm local time. The capital was quieter than usual on Sunday, with fewer cars or pedestrians on the streets.
Since coming to power in April 2018 after two years of anti-government unrest, Abiy has been hailed for his efforts to end the iron-fisted rule of his predecessors. Earlier, Brig Gen Tefera Mamo, the head of special forces in Amhara, told state television that “most of the people who attempted the coup have been arrested, although there are a few still at large”. He did not give details about Asamnew. Since coming to power, Abiy has released political prisoners, removed bans on political parties and prosecuted officials accused of gross human rights abuses, but his government is battling ethnic bloodshed once held in check by the state’s iron grip.
He has embarked on economic reforms, allowed dissident groups back into the country, sought to crack down on rights abuses and arrested dozens of top military and intelligence officials. Now some of Ethiopia‘s ethnic groups are disputing the boundaries of the country’s nine federal states, or arguing that they too should have regional governments, claims that threaten the dominance of other groups.
He also sealed a peace deal with neighbouring Eritrea. But he has battled a surge in tensions between ethnic groups in the diverse country – usually over land and resources – leading to deadly violence in the nation of more than 100 million people. Amhara is home to Ethiopia‘s second largest ethnic group of the same name and their native tongue, Amharic, is also the country’s official language. The anti-government protests that lasted three years and eventually forced the former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn to resign in 2018 had begun in the neighbouring state of Oromia but quickly spread to Amhara.
More than a million people have been displaced by the ethnic clashes, which analysts attribute to multiple causes, such as the weakening of the once all-powerful ruling EPRDF and different groups trying to take advantage of opportunities presented by the political transition. Demonstrators were angered by grievances over land rights, political and economic marginalisation – issues that Abiy is racing to address.
“He (Abiy) seems to be dismantling the EPRDF (ruling coalition) and is entertaining thoughts of altering the architecture of federalism, but he hasn’t given any clear direction he’s heading in,” said Matt Bryden, the head of regional thinktank Sahan Research. “That uncertainty is creating a lot of competition and … driving a lot of the friction and violence.”
Abiy had also replaced many senior security officials when he came to power, Bryden noted, creating more uncertainty that allowed armed groups that would once have been quashed to flourish.
Abiy’s changes have not gone unchallenged. A year ago, he survived a grenade attack that killed two people at a rally. In October, hundreds of soldiers marched on his palace demanding pay rises. He defused the situation by doing push-ups with them but later said they were trying to derail reforms.
The internet was down across the country on Sunday, although there was no statement on this from the government. Authorities have cut off the internet several times previously for security and other reasons.
Ethiopia is due to hold parliamentary elections next year, although the electoral board warned earlier this month that they were behind schedule and that instability could cause a problem for polling. Several opposition groups have called for the elections to be held on time anyway.
EthiopiaEthiopia
AfricaAfrica
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content