Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Photo/FILE

By  ARGAW ASHINE, SUNDAY NATION Correspondent in Addis Ababa  — Ethiopian security forces have conducted a major operation in the last couple of days to arrest people alleged to have links with an attempted coup last week.

The operation in various parts of the country, including army bases, reportedly netted police and army officers in Amhara region but authorities declined to comment on the issue.

Several people were also arrested in the capital Addis Ababa.  

Last week, a security intelligence team raided homes of suspected individuals and arrested 40 people, including high-ranking military officials.

Mr Bereket Simon, the minister for communication affairs, who was allegedly the target of an assassination plot, denied there was a coup plot, preferring to call it “the terror plot” by “disgruntled individuals” instead.

“We have solid democratic foundation and there is absolutely no room for coup in Ethiopia,” Mr Bereket said.

But the terror plot, the minister said, had been thwarted successfully. He confirmed security forces were hunting down four individuals who are on the run.  

“The investigation is under way and which may lead to more arrests,” he said.

Ethiopian authorities have blamed a group called “May 15” led by Birhanu Nega, who is based in the United States for last week’s so-called assassination plot.

On Friday, said the group had planned to assassinate officials and blow up public utilities in a plot to topple the government.

“Several individuals were targeted for assassination,” Mr Bereket told reporters, without saying who were the intended targets.

“They were intending to pave the way for street actions to overthrow the government,” he said, adding that the group had planned to target telecommunications and power sectors.

Some 200 opposition supporters were killed and hundreds arrested following the disputed 2005 parliamentary election.

Berhanu, now residing in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in that poll, but was arrested when the opposition disputed the results. He and other opposition leaders were released in a 2007 pardon.

Scurrilous accusations

Meles was initially hailed as part of a new generation of African leaders, but rights groups have increasingly criticised the rebel-turned-leader for cracking down on opposition.

Even though Meles has held power since the early 1990s, the recent arrests show his government is still sensitive to the opposition in the run-up to next year’s parliamentary vote.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous country has been eyed by foreign investors in agriculture, horticulture and real estate although it has recently suffered from high inflation and a fall in foreign exchange inflows.