Ethiopia Arrests 25 Al-Shabaab Suspects in Terror Sweep

Photo: Stuart Price/UN

Four suspected members of Al Shabaab, the Islamic insurgent group, were captured (file photo).

Ethiopian police have arrested 25 people accused of plotting attacks in the country and suspected of having links to Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants, officials said Thursday (June 5th).
Ethiopian government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said the suspects had been trained by al-Shabaab in Somalia and were planning a series of attacks in Jimma, about 305 kilometres southwest of Addis Ababa and where the arrests were made.
"About 25 people have been apprehended on suspicion of organising an underground terrorist cell," he told AFP, adding that "a number of weapons" were seized and the suspects are likely to be charged.
Ethiopia, which shares a 1,600-kilometre border with Somalia, sent troops into the country in 2011 to help the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali forces fight al-Shabaab. It currently has around 4,500 troops in Somalia and has spearheaded a recent offensive against the militants.
The United States and British embassies have upgraded their travel warnings for Ethiopia in recent weeks, alerting visitors and residents to an increased threat of attacks.
While Ethiopia "has been and will remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks", Shimeles said, the threat has not necessarily increased. "I do not think that there is a special risk that warrants an extraordinary alert," he said.
Al-Shabaab leaders have vowed to attack Ethiopia to avenge the presence of its troops in Somalia. Last October, two Somali nationals blew themselves up while crafting a bomb in Addis Ababa, which police said they planned to detonate at a crowded football match