An unit of Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) had carried out a military operation last night in city of Gondar. During the attack, a high level Woyanne security official named Ato Asemahegn Woldegebriel was hit several times with bullets and is critically wounded. He is currently in a hospital.
Ato Asemahegn is a chief Woyanne security official and deputy administrator of northern Gondar. He, along with the current education minister Sintayehu Woldemikahel, is responsible for the murder of hundreds of high school and university students following the May 2005 elections. He had also rounded up and jailed tens of thousands of civilians in a concentration camp. He is known for his extremely cruel methods of torturing political prisoners.
Ato Asemahegn, who is Meles Zenawi’s trusted agent, comes from the Tigray region, but had competed in Gondar’s Qola Deba wereda (district) for the regional parliament. He was soundly defeated, but dismissed the election result and called a new election after which he declared himself the winner.
EPPF fighters had been targeting this notorious mass murderer for a long time, but due to heavy security around him they did not succeed, until last night.
The ambush by the EPPF unit involved heavy exchanges of machine gun fire for several minutes.