50 people arrested on suspicion of planning acts of “terrorism and violence” in the capital of Ethiopia

March 21. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Ethiopian authorities have announced the arrest of 50 people suspected of planning acts of “terrorism and violence” in the capital, Addis Ababa, and have added that weapons and explosive devices have been seized during the operations.

The Ethiopian Police have indicated in a statement published on their account on the social network Facebook that these people would be part of a “covert group” that sought to unleash episodes of violence in Addis Ababa and its surroundings, without commenting on whether they have links to any group. armed.

Thus, he indicated that these people “previously planned to turn the Amhara region into a center of chaos and violence” and added that they changed their objective after security forces “dismantled” their efforts to carry out attacks in that area. of the African country.

On the other hand, he stressed that the detainees had worked with “some followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church” to “create a favorable environment for the organization”, before adding that other “coordinators” of these activities are “in several foreign countries.” “.

The Ethiopian Police has highlighted that the operations have been carried out after five months of surveillance and has reported that the agents seized weapons, explosives, incendiary materials, foreign currencies and various documents.

A group of United Nations experts warned in September 2023 that the violence in Ethiopia had acquired an “almost national scale” and denounced atrocities and war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ethiopia despite the signing almost a year ago of a ceasefire. the fire to end the conflict that broke out in November 2020 between the Army and the Tigray Popular Liberation Front (TPLF).