Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service said on April 17 that it had arrested 138 people it described as planning to disrupt the country's June 1 general election, in a press statement that characterised the detainees as linked to international terrorist organisations.
The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) announced the arrests in a press statement, saying the suspects were collaborating with terrorist and extremist groups to undermine peace and security.
"Some 138 suspects, who were planning to disrupt peace and security of the country as well as the upcoming national election, have been apprehended," NISS said in the statement.
The agency reported that the operation involved federal and regional security forces working across multiple locations, and that the detainees had been "deployed to obstruct electoral activities in selected cities and districts and to incite ethnic and religious conflicts." NISS said some of those arrested had "established links with international terrorist organizations such as Al-Shabaab and ISIS, and received training in Somalia." The agency said it had seized weapons, explosives, grenades, ammunition, military uniforms, radio communication equipment, mobile handsets, SIM cards, and foreign currency in the course of the arrests. NISS did not publicly name any of the detainees, specify where they were being held, or release documentation of the alleged foreign training or organisational links.
The announcement came in a press statement released through state media. NISS has not indicated whether formal charges have been filed, under which statute the detainees are being held, or whether they have been granted access to legal counsel. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, which has previously documented concerns about incommunicado detention and prolonged pre-charge custody of individuals detained under terrorism-related authorities, has not publicly commented on the April 17 operation.
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The arrests come as opposition parties have raised concerns about the security conditions under which the June 1 vote is to be held. The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party issued a statement on April 8 opposing the government's plans to proceed with the election, citing "protracted conflicts, ethnic-based arrests and killings" and calling on the government to cease drone strikes on civilians, open up civic and media space, and invite armed groups to take part in the vote through negotiations. Opposition leaders who participated in National Electoral Board of Ethiopia consultations this month told The Reporter Ethiopia that they had raised concerns about security threats in Oromia, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Southern Ethiopia, where federal forces have been engaged in active conflict with the Fano militia in Amhara and the Oromo Liberation Army in Oromia.
The pattern of arrest announcements framed around electoral security has a recent precedent. Authorities have previously used the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to detain journalists, opposition figures, and civil society members without formal charges for extended periods, according to Human Rights Watch. In the seven weeks before the June 1 vote, Ethiopia's press environment has contracted sharply: the Ethiopian Media Authority revoked Addis Standard's registration in February, declined to renew the accreditation of three Reuters journalists the same month, and maintains a suspension on two Deutsche Welle correspondents covering Tigray and Amhara. Addis Standard managing editor Million Beyene was abducted from the outlet's newsroom by unidentified plainclothes men on April 15 and remains missing; four police departments have denied holding him.
Ethiopia's 2026 election is the country's first since the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement ending the Tigray conflict. The vote will proceed amid active insurgencies in at least two regions, with more than 3.3 million people displaced across Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray, according to Human Rights Watch. The Fano movement in Amhara has declared that it will treat participation in the election as alignment with the federal government; no credible voting mechanism has been announced for Tigray. NISS said it had "finalized all necessary preparations to ensure that the upcoming national election proceeds peacefully" and called on the public to report suspicious activities and support security institutions.
