This dyad belongs to the conflict Ethiopia: Amhara
Summary of conflict Ethiopia: Amhara
The conflict between the Military faction (forces of Asaminew Tsige) and the Ethiopian government should be understood in light of growing Amhara ethnic nationalism and the call for regional autonomy for the Amhara. During 2018 and 2019, Amhara's head of security, General Asaminew Tsige, recruited Amhara ethnic militias and rallied for greater autonomy. General Asaminew Tsige led a faction of soldiers in the attempted coup against Ethiopia's government on 22 June 2019 in Bahir Dar, the regional capital, and Addis Ababa.
Background to the conflict
The Amhara state is the second most populous state in Ethiopia, and the Amhara ethnic or ethnolinguistic group exceeds 19 million people across the country, which accounts for an estimated quarter of the country's population. The Amhara has been the politically dominant ethnic group historically in what became modern-day Ethiopia. However, since the overthrow of the Derg regime in 1991, the ruling EPRDF (from 2019 called Prosperity Party) had repressed the Amhara-based political opposition. Historically strong support for pan-Ethiopian movements in Amhara had declined, as more ethnonationalist currents had gained popularity, especially among young male Amharas.
General Asaminew Tsige had a longstanding reputation of being an Amhara nationalist who sought greater autonomy for the Amhara people. General Asaminew had been imprisoned and sentenced for his participation in a coup attempt in 2009, but was pardoned by Ethiopia's government in 2018. In November 2018, he was appointed the head of security in Amhara state, a position he used to further advance his Amhara ethnonationalism, actively recruiting Amhara militias and encouraging Amharas to arm themselves.
Failed coup attempt in Amhara capital
On 22 June 2019, as political leaders gathered in Bahir Dar, Amhara's regional capital, to discuss how to stop General Asaminew's recruitment of ethnic Amhara militias, a group of armed men led by Asaminew, made their way into the room. Amhara's state president Ambachew Mekonnen and some of his top advisors, including the state attorney general Migbaru Kebede, was immediately killed. Later that day, the chief of staff of Ethiopia's armed forces, General Seare Mekonnen, was assassinated by his bodyguard, who had been recruited for General Asaminew's cause, in Seare's home in Addis Ababa.
Several locations in Bahir Dar, including the police headquarters, the ruling party office, and the state-run media, were attacked by forces loyal to General Asaminew on the same day. Clashes with armed forces loyal to the Ethiopian government ensued and General Asaminew went into hiding, he was later killed on 24 June 2019 in a shoot-out with government forces. Several hundred arrests were made in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt.
