Ethiopian security chiefs arrested after Abia Ahmed's attack – quartz Africa

Young, popular and preaching peace, Prime Minister Abi Ahmed accelerated the reform in all sectors in Ethiopia since coming to power in April. But his radical and transformative agenda was facing the opposition – more than that within the founding of the country.

On Monday (November 12th), Attorney General Berhan Tsegaie said the evidence indicated that senior members of the security sections in the country organized the Abi attack at a rally in June, according to Reuters. Two people were killed and injured after a grenade went to a political rally in the capital Adis Ababa in which Abii attended.

The government issued arrests for 36 officials from the security forces, including the National Security Agency, the federal and police forces in Addis Ababa.

"The evidence we have collected shows that the senior national security agency has ordered Oromos to attack because it would mean that Prime Minister Oromo killed Oromos," said the Attorney General. "It would also (i) leave the impression that he did not support the Oromo population."

In the courtroom, even 26 officials from the military factory "Metals and Engineering Corporation" appeared, where they were denied bail. METEC was once responsible for building a $ 4 billion dam project on the Nile River, which is expected to be the largest hydropower project in Africa, but was contracted in August.

Arrests and surveys show that Abi's efforts to transform Ethiopia after decades of authoritarian rule are easier said than done. Considering that he focused on the coalition government of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democrat Front, the 42-year-old interrupted the internet, rejected accusations against the media on diaspora, freed prisoners and critics of the government, hired exiled opposition groups, and called the unprecedented 50 % of women's cabinet and repaired relations with longtime neighboring enemy of Eritrea.

However, these reforms have also provoked domestic challenges. This includes ethnic conflicts in the eastern Somali region, deadly protests of the flag and riots in the capital and surrounding areas, leading to dozens of murders, mass arrests and closings of the Internet.

The current situation also shows the fragility of rapid political reforms, and raises the question of whether and how 100 million people can turn into ethnic divisions to achieve a unique future. This is especially important for the People's Liberation Front, the Tigra, an ethnic minority party that once was the dominant force in the country's politics, until Abij was in power.

Abii preached a message "interme" or communion, unlike ethnic fragmentation – but arrests yesterday show that he is now ready to be harmed in order to save his neglect.

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