August 22, 2018 - Unconfirmed reports are spreading on the internet claiming that an arrest warrant has been issued on Ethiopia's former Intelligence chief, Getachew Assefa.
Online media outlets such as ESAT, Addis Neger and Borkena.com are reporting that Getachew Assefa did not attend the just concluded regular meeting of the Executive Committe of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). According to the reports, his whereabouts are unknow at this time.
If true, this will mark yet another step towards further deterioration of relations between the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the rest of the EPRDF.
It is also being reported that some forty federal police officers who were detained in Mekelle Alula Aba Nega International Airport this month were tasked with serving arrest warrants to individuals such Getachew Assefa. They were reportedly released a few days ago and returned to Addis Ababa unsuccessfully.
Getachew Assefa is one of the members of the nine-member polit bureau of the TPLF. He has served as chief intelligence officer of Ethiopia since 2001.
He was relieved of his duty in June this year by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and subsequently named Security Advisor to the new Prime Minister.