‘Marching soldiers involved in Ethiopia coup attempt’

Some of the soldiers who marched to the Ethiopian prime minister’s office in October last year, were involved in the recent regional coup attempt, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said.

Speaking to the upper house of Parliament on Monday, Mr Abiy confirmed that the killings of five top military and government officials in the northern regional state of Amhara and the capital Addis Ababa in June were aimed at toppling the regional government.

“Any attempt to seize power through guns and not the ballot box will take Ethiopia a hundred years backwards,” he said.

In addition to reacting to the killings, Mr Abiy addressed issues of deteriorating security, the displacement of citizens and Ethiopia’s plan to liberalise key state-run companies.

Telecommunications and sugar industries will be the first sectors to be open for private investment, the prime minister said.

He also rejected claims that some of the two million internally displaced Ethiopians, who have recently gone back to their homes, had been forced to return. BBC News