Failed Coup Attempt in Ethiopia Leaves Chief of Military and Regional President Dead

The President of Ethiopia’s Amhara region, along with his top advisor and Ethiopia’s chief of security, has been shot and killed after an attempted coup according to the office of the Prime Minister. Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for the Ethiopian government, said that a “hit squad” led by the region’s security chief Asaminew Tsige entered a meeting in Amhara’s capital of Bahir Dar on Saturday, and shot regional President Ambachew Mekonnen and his top advisor Ezez Wassie. The two men were “gravely injured in the attack, and later died of their wounds,” she told journalists.

“Several hours later, in what seems like a coordinated attack, the chief of staff of the national security forces Seare Mekonnen was killed in his home by his bodyguard in Addis Ababa.” According to Al-Jazeera, the bodyguard also killed a retired general who was visiting Mekonnen at the time. Officials say they’ve apprehended the bodyguard, but Asaminew Tsige and his group of “Mercenaries” are still on the run.

Al Jazeera reports that President Abiy Ahmed called the group “mercenaries”, and sources also say that the military has taken control and that the coup that had the goal of causing military instability was vastly unsuccessful. However, it does pose some concern in Ethiopia, where Prime Minister Ahmed has been trying to restore peace and democracy to a nation that has a troubled past. “These tragic incidents, unfortunately, demonstrate the depth of Ethiopia’s political crisis. It is now critical that actors across the country do not worsen the instability by reacting violently or trying to exploit this unfolding situation for their own political ends,” said expert William Davison, an International Crisis Group analyst.