The masterminds of Ethiopia’s Saturday coup attempt are on the ran as the government step up manhunt on many suspects involved, the prime minister’s office said in a statement obtained by the Nyamilepedia.

On Saturday, a coup attempt allegedly led by Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige in the Ethiopia’s Amhara regional capital Bahir Dar left the regional president, Dr. Ampacho Mikonnen, and senior government officials dead.

The Ethiopian army chief, General Seare Mekonnen, was also killed by a body guard at his residence in the capital Addis Ababa along with retired Major General Gezai Abera.

In a statement issued this morning, the Ethiopian premier’s office said the government has apprehended some of the coup plotters and in manhunt for others who are still on the run and hiding.

“Many of the individuals involved in the attacks have been arrested and there is an ongoing operation to arrest the remaining,” the statement from the office of the prime minister said without identifying who was has been arrested.

The statement further said Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige who allegedly orchestrated the Saturday’s coup and who remains on the run now “was given amnesty and released from imprisonment last year.”

Ethiopia’s coup: army chief, regional president and two senior gov’t officials killed

Ethiopian army chief, General Seara Mokennon, and Amhara regional president, Dr. Ambachew Mokennon, along with two other senior government officials, are confirmed dead as a result of injuries sustained during Saturday’s aborted coup, the state media confirmed.

The two other senior government officials are Azaze Wasaw, a regional minister and senior member of the ADP, and ex-military logistic head and former TPLF/EPRDF member, Major General. Gezae Abera.

It was early on reported that the army chief was wounded, however, the report could not be confirmed as internet was down in several areas including the capital, Addis Ababa, where shooting also occurred on Saturday.

The coup attempt, according to the office of the Prime Minister, took place in the regional state of Amhara, one of the nine federal regions of the Horn of Africa nation.

In a statement following the attack, the office of the premier said the coup contradicts the country’s constitution and tantamount to violations of the Ethiopia’s democratic values vowing to prosecute the culprits and bring them to justice.