The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres on Sunday condemned the killing of Ethiopia’s army chief of staff.
Gen Seare Mekonnen was killed together with at least three other senior officials on Saturday.
They were trying to prevent a coup attempt by an army general in the northern state of Amhara.
The country’s prime minister, Ahmed Abiy denounced the incident in state television broadcast late on Saturday.
Abiy said on state television late on Saturday that the Ethiopian Chief of Staff General Seare Mekonnen “was shot by people who are close to him.”
António Guterres in a statement said he was “deeply concerned by the weekend’s deadly incidents”.
The UN chief also called on “all Ethiopian stakeholders to demonstrate restraint, prevent violence and avoid any action that could undermine the peace and stability of Ethiopia”.
Attempted coup plotters
Those behind the attempted coup succeeded in killing the Amhara’s state president Ambachew Mekonnen and his advisor as well.
The state media named General Asamnew Tsige who happens to be the region’s security head as the orchestrator of the attempted coup.
The killings reportedly happened during a shooting incident while federal officials were holding a meeting with the state president.
The meeting was to discuss how to deal with the recruitment of ethnic militias by General Asamnew Tsige, according to Reuters reporting.
The Secretary General said in his statement that he “welcomed the commitment of the Prime Minister and Government of Ethiopia to ensure that the perpetrators of these actions are brought to justice.
The United Nations remains committed to supporting the Government of Ethiopia in its efforts to address ongoing challenges.”
Amhara state
The state of Amhara is Ethiopia’s second most populous region and home to people belonging to the Amhara ethnic group.
The national language of Amharic originates from the Amhara state. But there is continued violence between the Amhara and Gumuz ethnic groups.
Many people have been killed in both states due to fighting with the latest clashes happening in May of this year.
This particular fighting and other ethnic clashes in Ethiopia have displaced millions and are largely over land disputes.
Source: Africafeeds.com
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