Ethiopia's Army Chief, Regional Generals Killed in Coup Attempt

Ethiopia's army chief of staff and the regional president of the northern state of Amhara were killed in two related attacks when a general tried to seize control of Amhara in an attempted coup, the prime minister's office said on Sunday.

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Amhara state president Ambachew Mekonnen and his advisor were shot dead and the state's attorney general was wounded in Amhara's capital of Bahir Dar Saturday evening, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In a separate but related attack the same night, Ethiopia's army Chief of Staff Seare Mekonnen and another retired general were shot dead in Seare's home in Addis Ababa by his bodyguard.

Abiy's office named Amhara state security head General Asamnew Tsige as 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.

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.

But the premier's shake-up of the military and intelligence services has earned him powerful enemies, while his government is struggling to contain growing ethnic violence, including in Amhara.