APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedu Andargachew, who was appointed later as the National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has remained under house arrest, APA can report on Friday.
A source who claimed to be familiar with his situation told APA on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal that he has been under strict house arrest for several months.
Agents from the intelligence unit are assigned to monitor Andargachew’s residence in the capital, Addis Ababa, where no visitors are allowed, according to other sources who confirmed to APA that his family members are under pressure ever since.
Although the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed suspects Andargachew of having links with the Fano armed forces, who are engaged in fighting federal troops across the Amhara region, the intelligence department has not established concrete evidence proving this.
Andargachew met with the United States’ special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, in early September 2023.
He was subsequently put under house arrest after being stopped while being driven to his residence near Bulgaria Mazoria area in Addis Ababa.
A government-assigned bodyguard to him had his firearm confiscated, and Andargachew himself was dispossessed of his handgun.
Andargachew’s clash with the federal government became public after he delivered a speech in the Ethiopian Parliament opposing the imposition of a state of emergency in the Amhara region.
He objected to the military operation in the region, suggesting that there was no military solution to the problem.
He also attacked the ruling Prosperity Party saying it had entirely lost legitimacy in the region.
MG/as/APA