ADDIS ABABA,
Ethiopians on Tuesday continued paying tributes to the high-profile victims of a failed coup attempt that targeted to overthrow Ethiopia’s second populous Amhara regional state’s administration.
The failed coup has so far left dead at least five senior federal and regional government officials, including the Amhara regional state president, Ambachew Mekonnen, as well as Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian defense forces, Seare Mekonnen, according to the Ethiopian government.
Among the five senior regional and federal government officials who are so far confirmed dead from the gunshot injuries also include Migbaru Kebede, Attorney General of the Amhara regional state, Ezez Wassie, who was an advisor to the Amhara region’s president, as well as Major-General Geza’e Abera, a retired former senior official in the Ethiopian army, the Ethiopian government confirmed Sunday.
While three of the regional government officials were killed in the Amhara regional state’s capital Bahir Dar, some 570-km from the capital Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian army chief and Abera were killed in an attack in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed disclosed in a statement that followed the failed coup d’etat attempt.
The Ethiopian Federal Police Commission (EFPC) also revealed on Tuesday that the two attacks in Bahir Dar and Addis Ababa “were conducted in a highly coordinated mission.”
Ahmed, in a statement issued by his office, also disclosed that the man behind the deadly coup d’etat attempt was Brigadier-General Asaminew Tsige, who was the intelligence and security chief of the Amhara regional state.
Also on late Monday, state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported that Tsige, who was the suspected mastermind of the failed coup, “has been shot dead on the outskirt of the regional capital Bahir Dar.”
Amid the fast-changing developments, the Ethiopian Minister of Defense, Lemma Megersa, also on late Monday described the incident as “an attack on Ethiopia’s sovereignty,” which has left the East African country’s peace and security on a “crossroad.”
Noting the escalating tensions both in the regional capital and Addis Ababa, the defense minister also called on the Ethiopian army “to remain united during this difficult time in Ethiopia’s history.”
Following the deadly incident, the Ethiopian House of Peoples Representatives (HoPR) had also declared Monday as a national mourning day, which the House Speaker of the HoPR, Tagesse Chafo, described as a move “to remember and honor the highly respected fallen senior federal and regional government officials.”
As part of the national day of mourning, Ethiopia’s flag was flown at half-mast throughout the country, as well as at Ethiopian embassies, consular offices and Ethiopian-owned ships outside the country’s territory.
While in the Amhara region, the regional government has also declared three-day regional mourning as its governance structure succumbed in disbelief.
While family members, senior Ethiopian government officials and members of the public gather in the late officials’ houses both in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar to pay tributes ahead of scheduled state-funeral slated for Wednesday, the Ethiopian government has vowed to bring individuals who are responsible for the deadly attack to justice.
State-run Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA) on Tuesday reported that some of the perpetrators that are believed to be part of the “hidden and organized” coup have been arrested, while a few others are at large.
The incident also triggered a total internet blackout throughout the East African country as the Ethiopian government launched nationwide crackdown on the organized coup attempt, mainly in the Amhara region and the capital Addis Ababa. (Xinhua)