Cape Town — Ethiopian officials have arrested dozens of journalists, activists and campaigners as part of “decisive measures” against what they call extremist forces.
The group of 47 people were detained for “executing a terrorist act” and allegedly attempting to overthrow the government in Amhara.
The action came days after senior politician in the ruling Prosperity Party Girma Yeshitla and his bodyguards were shot dead in the northern regional state. Suspects had been identified by security agents, and in a statement, the country’s federal joint task force named 11 more suspects based in and outside of Ethiopia, BBC reported.
The task force said that forces “pretending to fight for the Amhara people” have formed “a clandestine cell by coordinating both internally and externally” outside of the country, and are “devouring” the dedicated children of the region.
“They were planning to carry out a violent movement, declaring that they would liberate the populace. They were working to plunge the nation once more into crisis,” the force said in a statement.
The group has been trying to link and organize university students with the local Amhara population in all areas of the Amhara region, Addis Abeba, and all of the country’s colleges, as well as organizing a military wing and frightening the people by attacking government officials, according to the statement.
