Asaminew Tsige

Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige (Amharic: አሳምነው ፅጌ; died 24 June 2019) was an Ethiopian general who served as chief of the Amhara Region security forces during part of 2019. He had previously been serving a life sentence in relation to an alleged coup attempt staged by Ginbot 7. During his imprisonment, he was allegedly tortured and lost sight in one eye.[1] He was released in 2018 and restored to his prior rank and pension.[2]

Asaminew is part of Amhara people, which is Ethiopia's second largest ethnic group. He has been known for his hard line ethnic nationalism and was particularly popular among a segment of young Ethiopians.[3] After his release from prison and appointment to a government post, he has advocated for more autonomy for Amhara and went as far as calling members of his ethnic groups to arm themselves and join local militias.[4] Though the International Crisis Group said that his activities helped the rise of the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA), which emerged as a challenger to the Amhara Democratic Party, NaMA was established before the coming of Gen. Asaminew to the government power.[5]

Asaminew was accused of being behind an alleged attempted coup in the Amhara Region in 2019. The President of Amhara region Ambachew Mekonnen was killed during the alleged attempt. In a related event, the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, Gen. Se'are Mekonnen, and his aide, Maj. Gen. Gizae Aberra, were assassinated by a bodyguard, the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said.[6] Se'are and Ambachew were close allies of the prime minister.[3] Following the alleged attempted coup, he was on the run, with his whereabouts unknown,[7] until he was shot dead by police on 24 June, after 36 hours at large, Ethiopian state television announced[8]