ADDIS ABABA – A prominent Ethiopian general who has been critical of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government was due in court on Friday after being arrested this week, his wife said.
Brigadier General Tefera Mamo commanded the Amhara region’s military, which has backed Abiy’s federal troops against rebellious forces in northern Tigray, until February when he was removed for unexplained reasons.
Last Sunday, he gave a TV interview where he criticised Abiy’s strategy against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and also accused Amhara members of the prime minister’s ruling party of being motivated by money.
On Monday, Tefera was picked up after meeting a friend in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa and flown by helicopter back to Bahir Dar, the capital of Amhara, his wife Menen Haile told Reuters, citing a family member who saw him in detention.
The president and spokesman of Amhara’s regional administration did not respond to requests for comment or confirmation of his arrest. Police did not respond either.
Critics say Abiy, who won a Nobel Peace Prize after taking power as a reformist in 2018, is cracking down on dissent around Ethiopia. He says he is guaranteeing stability and law-and-order in the multi-ethnic nation.
