GOING ROGUE

Ethiopian Military Chief Killed in Thwarted Coup Attempt

The Ethiopian government said it was able to stave off a military coup before the country’s chief military general was fatally shot by his bodyguard.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali announced Sunday that his government foiled a coup attempt in Bahir Dar, north of the capital Addis Ababa, and that, in a separate incident, the military chief was shot dead in the capital. The Associated Press reports that the coup was led by several high-ranking military officers. Speaking on state television wearing full military fatigues, the prime minister announced that in a “related” incident, army chief General Seare Mekonnen and a visiting retired army general were fatally shot by Mekonnen’s body guard at his home in Addis Ababa a short time after the attempt was foiled. A spokesman for the government told the A.P. that the coup attempt was led by a renegade brigadier who had just been pardoned by the prime minister. Several of those involved in the coup have been jailed.