Bahir Dar, Ethiopia - Thousands lined the
streets in Ethiopia's two main northern cities on Wednesday to
mourn officials killed in a failed regional coup, as soldiers
looked on and priests called for unity after months of
ethnically-charged strife.
Snipers took up positions on rooftops in Amhara's regional
capital Bahir Dar and security services mixed with the crowds in
a show of strength four days after the killings that posed the
biggest threat yet to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's reforms.
Thousands also gathered around a monument in Mekele, capital
of Tigray region, which was the home of the national army's
chief of staff, Seare Mekonnen, who was shot dead by his
bodyguard late on Saturday.
The government has accused Amhara's former security chief of
masterminding gun attacks that killed the region's president
Ambachew Mekonnen and two other officials in Bahir Dar, and the
chief of staff and another general 500 miles away in the
national capital Addis Ababa.
Asamnew Tsige, who the government said was shot dead by
security forces on Monday, was accused of trying to seize
control of Amhara, not the whole country.
But that was still a strike at the heart of Ethiopia’s
political system – a federation made up of a patchwork of ethnic
groups and traditions.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power 15 months ago and has
won widespread international praise for kickstarting political
and economic reforms. But his shake-up of the military and
intelligence services has earned him powerful enemies at home.
His government is also struggling to contain discontent from
Ethiopia's myriad ethnic groups fighting the federal government
and each other for greater influence and resources.
Outbreaks of ethnic violence have displaced around 2.4
million people, according to the United Nations.
Ethiopian deacons stand in front of the coffin of Army Chief of Staff Seare Mekonnen, who was shot by his bodyguard, during a memorial ceremony in Addis Ababa. Picture: Baz Ratner/Reuters
DIVISIONS
Priests from Ethiopia's Orthodox church gave sermons calling
for forgiveness as the bodies were laid out at the presidential
house in the lakeside city of Bahir Dar.
Three flower-covered black hearses carrying the bodies of
the state president, his adviser and the state's attorney
general then wound their way through the streets accompanied
traditional flute music.
The bodies of chief of staff Seare and the general killed
with him were laid out at the Tigray Martyr's Monument in
Mekelle, flanked by banks of white roses and candles.
"We will not be divided by ethnicities. We will be united
and we will fight them," said General Asrat Denero, the chief of
the Ethiopian military's western command centre.
Signs of the country's divisions were more apparent further
away from the main ceremonies.
Some in the crowd in Mekelle accused the government of being
too lax on security. Some others chanted "Abiy is a traitor" and
"Abiy resign".
The night before the funerals in Bahir Dar, several young
men told Reuters they supported Asamnew, whom they described as
a defender of the Amhara people. They asked not to be named to
avoid attention from the security forces.
"He (Asamnew) was creating a militia because the region was
under attack. It was to protect us. People from Amhara are being
killed everywhere," one said.