The alleged mastermind behind a failed coup attempt in Ethiopia has been killed.
Asaminew Tsige, a brigadier general, was killed by security forces on the outskirts of Bahir Dar, the capital of northern Amhara region where the coup attempt took place, the prime minister's spokesperson Nigussu Tilahun has told German news agency dpa.
The attackers tried to wrest power from the regional government on Saturday night.
The president of the region and an adviser were killed in Bahir Dar, while the head of Ethiopia's armed forces was killed by his bodyguard in the capital Addis Ababa.
The attorney general of Amhara was also killed.
During a firefight on Monday in which the coup leader was killed, seven other coup plotters were also killed as well as six members of the security forces, Amhara regional police commissioner Abere Adamu told state TV.
He said 178 people have also been arrested in relation to the incident, including four high-ranking officials.
The circumstances of the coup attempt were not immediately clear.
Ethiopia's many different ethnic groups have often been the source of tensions and clashes in the country, which has long been ruled with an iron fist.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has pushed through many reforms since he came to power in April 2018, including the release of political prisoners and ending a 20-year conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
However the leader has struggled to ease tensions between ethnic groups.
The country was in mourning on Monday, with flags at half mast, and the internet still down.
The EU condemned the coup attempt in a statement calling the killings "deplorable".
"The EU firmly reiterates the need for continued peaceful and democratic reforms in Ethiopia," a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.
Australian Associated Press