Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
A coup attempt in Ethiopia’s Amhara region last weekend left dozens of people dead and prompted a security crackdown as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attempts to maintain his reformist agenda in the face of this latest, and deadliest, challenge to his administration.
On Saturday, forces aligned with Brig. Gen. Asaminew Tsige launched simultaneous attacks on the region’s police headquarters, president’s office and ruling party center in the regional capital, Bahir Dar, killing the governor, his adviser and the attorney general, according to The Associated Press. Hours later, the chief of Ethiopia’s military and another general were killed in the national capital, Addis Ababa. The remnants of Asaminew’s forces then killed dozens more civilians in early morning raids Sunday on remote villages in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, which neighbors Amhara.