Ethiopian police arrested 56 members of an ethno-nationalist political party in Amhara state, the state's spokesman said Thursday. According to him, the detentions intervene following the political assassinations perpetrated Saturday, which the authorities qualified as "attempted coup d'etat" against the government of the region.

Two senior Ethiopian military officials were killed by gunmen Saturday in Addis Ababa and three other officials in Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region. The ensuing clashes resulted in dozens of deaths in Bahir Dar, where militia attacked the regional police headquarters as well as the headquarters of the regional presidency and the ruling party.

The president of Amhara State is among the victims of this alleged attempt to overthrow the government of this region, one of the nine regions of the country drawn on the basis of ethnic federalism.

According to the authorities, the assassinations in Bahir Dar were linked to that of the chief of staff of the Ethiopian army, Seare Mekonnen, killed a few hours later in Addis Ababa by his bodyguard while he was organizing the response. on the attack in Amhara State. A retired general who visited him had also been killed.

Political and ethnic crisis

These events reflect a power struggle in the context of Ethiopia's politico-ethnic crisis.

"In Addis Ababa alone, 56 of our members and supporters have been arrested, while dozens of others have also been arrested in the Oromo region", located in the south of the Amhara region, said Christian Tadese, spokesperson of the Amhara National Movement (NaMa).

This party is seen by observers as having ideas very similar to those of the man accused of organizing the Saturday attacks, Asaminew Tsige, the chief of security and intelligence of the Amhara region. First on the run, he was killed Monday by police.

"This campaign of arrests against NaMa members and supporters is not just about one party, it is an attack against an identity," that of the Amhara ethnic group, the spokesman said.

An employee of the Prosecutor General's Office in Ethiopia told AFP on Thursday that three of his colleagues had been arrested since Monday at their workplace.

Activist Elias Gebru said three of his colleagues had been arrested and appeared before a judge on Tuesday in connection with Saturday's "coup attempt".

"The Ethiopian government is using its old practices of persecuting peaceful people using its internal struggles as an excuse," said the activist, who heads a militant group for the rights of the inhabitants of Addis Ababa.

The Internet was partially restored in Ethiopia after a nearly five-day blackout.

No comment could be obtained from the Ethiopian Police Command or the Prime Minister's Office.

Ethnic militias

Saturday's killings are seen as a blow to the reformist and progressive agenda of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He has been striving since his inauguration in April 2018 to democratize the country, legalizing dissident groups and improving freedom of the press.

This easing also allowed a freer expression of inter-community tensions and ethnic nationalisms, and severely weakened the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition in Addis Ababa, and its constituent parties.

NaMa is an ethno-nationalist party created in 2018 and increasingly popular with the Amhara, Ethiopia's second largest ethnic group, to the point of seriously competing with the ADP, which represents this region within the EPRDF. .

NaMa "defends territorial claims on neighboring Tigray and ensures that it will put an end to the 'persecutions' of Amhara living outside the Amhara region," says the International Crisis Group think tank in a statement released Tuesday, noting that Mr. Asaminew's appointment as Chief of Security was seen as an attempt by the ADP to please the more radical Amhara.

Asaminew, released in 2018 as part of an amnesty program after nearly 10 years in prison for an alleged conspiracy, was reportedly about to be removed from his post because of his bellicose rhetoric. In particular, he had openly started training ethnic militias.

With AFP and Reuters