Ethiopia arrests former head of army firm as crackdown targets security services
Ethiopia arrested the former head of the military-run industrial conglomerate METEC on Tuesday, state media reported, a day after authorities announced investigations targeting senior members of the powerful security forces. Kinfe Dagnew, a brigadier-general in Ethiopia’s army, was detained near the northwest town of Humera, close to the border with Sudan and Eritrea, state-run broadcaster EBC said. Footage showed him surrounded by soldiers. The arrest came after the attorney-general announced a series of inquiries and detentions that one Western envoy, who asked not to be named, described on Tuesday as a “full-frontal assault on the establishment”. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to rein in security services after taking over in April — part of a series of radical reforms that have upended decades-old policies and hierarchies. He also promised to let private investors get stakes in the huge conglomerates run by the army and other state bodies that have dominated the economy sinc...
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