Ethiopia arrests 250 in massive crackdown

Nearly 250 people have been arrested in Ethiopia’s capital and the main city in its Amhara region since a coup attempt was foiled, state TV reported on Thursday.

Ethiopia has been on edge since twin attacks at the weekend in Addis Ababa and the city of Bahir Dar killed the army chief of staff, the region’s president and three other senior officials.

The violence, which the government says was part of a plot by a rogue general and his militia to take over Amhara, exposed how ethnic tensions are threatening the reform agenda of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation did not give any more details on who was arrested or when. But a party based in the northern region – the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA)- earlier said 56 of its members had been detained in Addis Ababa on Wednesday.