Ethiopian PM replaces army commander, appoints new spy chief after coup attempt
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on Friday appointed a new Chief of General Staff, Gen. Adem Mohammed, to replace Gen. Seare Mekonnen, who was killed during a coup attempt initiated in the north-eastern region of Amhara.
The Ethiopian Premier also appointed a new Director-General of the National Intelligence and Security Services, Demelash Gebremichael, according to Capital, a weekly newspaper.
The appointments follow the killings of senior government officials and a commander on Saturday in Amhara.
There was some unrest in Benishangul Gumuz, during what the government has classified as an attempted military coup which targeted a general seizure of power.
Elite Ethiopian forces killed Brigadier-General Asaminew Tsige, head of regional security in Amhara state in Ethiopia on Monday, 24 June 2019. He was accused of planning the military coup attempt. Authorities in Ethiopia accuse the renegade General of orchestrating the coup attempt. The renegade General was killed in a shoot-out with the elite military personnel in Zenzelma, outside Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region, about 500 km outside Addis Ababa, local media reported.
At least five senior security officials were killed on Saturday, 22 June, 2019, in two separate attacks. The first attack took place in Bahir Dar, at the state government headquarters. The attackers stormed the building where the head of the Amhara State, Dr Ambachew Mekonnen, and his adviser, Ezez Wasie, were holding a security meeting and shot them dead.
An attorney General of the region, who sustained injuries later died from his wounds. The appointments came two days after the state funeral for the slain chief of staff and a retired major General. The two were killed at the home of the General in Bole area, near the Rwandan Embassy in Addis Ababa during the coup attempt.
Sources said General Hassan Ibrahim, head of the military intelligence, was among the 182 people detained following the coup attempt.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 28June2019
