Ethiopia: journalists and army officers arrested in Addis Ababa

Members of an Amhara militia fighting alongside federal forces train in a village north of Bahir Dar on November 10, 2020. EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP

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While fighting continues in the Tigray region, the situation is also tense in the federal capital, Addis Ababa.

Six journalists are currently being held "incommunicado", according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

And in the army, national television announced the arrest of senior officers accused of collaborating with the TPLF, the party that leads the dissident province.

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The terms used by public television clearly reveal the climate that reigns today in the Ethiopian capital.

" 

 ," a report dated Wednesday reported.

These officers are accused of "

", adds public television, citing the federal police, for having in particular " 

 " between the northern command (ie Tigray) and the central command.

Among them, a major-general, specifically accused of attempting to ship weapons to the dissident province.

►

These officers are not the first to bear the brunt of the climate of anxiety that reigns in Addis Ababa, where a strong military presence could be observed on Wednesday, reports our correspondent in the capital,

.

Before them, 162 individuals had been arrested in possession of weapons and accused of colluding with the Tigrayan party TPLF.

Other sources report layoffs among Tigrayan officials in the administration, including the airline Ethiopian Airlines.

Journalists behind bars

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission President Daniel Bekele expressed his "

 " on Wednesday, as six Ethiopian journalists are currently being held without contact with the outside world, including the editor of Addis Standard. , the largest English-language weekly in the country.

Four of these six journalists have been arrested in the past 24 hours: three employees of the state agency EPA and another of the Oromia Media Network television of

.

The President of the Commission on Human Rights reiterates her demand for "

 ".

Tension mounts in the capital, before the three days of mobilization in support of the soldiers who have been initiated by the government.

On Wednesday, incidents took place, including a shootout and an explosion, which would have no connection with the situation in Tigray, police said.

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• Ethiopia

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