Ethiopia: 15 arrested for links to assassination group

By Addis Getachew</p> <p>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) – Ethiopian authorities arrested 15 suspects for their alleged links to a clandestine group carrying out high-profile assassinations in Oromia region, security officials said on Monday.</p> <p>According to the communication bureau in Oromia, the largest and most populous region in central Ethiopia, the suspects were identified as the members of Aba Torbe, a hit-and-run group.</p> <p>“They were arrested in a joint operation carried out by the National Intelligence and Security Service and security officials,” Fana Broadcasting Corporate, the local media outlet, quoted the bureau as saying in a statement.</p> <p>According to the statement, the group has been engaged in assassinating government officials and members of security forces.</p> <p>Among the suspects were Gadisa Negasa Chala, Merga Tefera Bulchu and Anisa Getachew — who were accused of coordinating the killings of civilians in Dembidolo, Nekempt and North Shoa zone in the region.</p> <p>The suspects were arrested in the capital Addis Ababa, where they were plotting assassination of senior government officials, prominent individuals and activists.</p> <p>Security forces also seized numerous pistols, hand grenades and weapons in the operation.</p> <p>The arrests came just a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated a special army group named “the Republican Guard” — a highly-trained, multi-task soldiers that prevent senior government officials from assassination attempts and protect their families from possible abductions.