The country’s intelligence and security service said suspects were working under the direction of a foreigner, a local media report said.
Ethiopian state media has said authorities have arrested 15 people over a plot to attack the United Arab Emirates embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian News Agency (EPA) on Wednesday released a statement from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) saying the suspects were operating in accordance with foreign instructions.
An unspecified amount of arms, explosives and documents were seized during the operation, according to the report, which was also called in a report by state-affiliated news agency FANA.
“The group took the mission from a foreign terrorist group and was preparing to wreak havoc on buildings and people’s lives,” the EPA said.
There was no immediate comment from the UAE foreign ministry or the embassy in Addis Ababa.
A second group of suspects planned to attack a UAE diplomatic mission in neighboring Sudan, the EPA said.
Ethiopia’s NISS was working with its Sudanese counterparts on that side of the plot, the group said. There were no immediate comments from the Sudanese authorities.
In their report, FANA cited the statement as saying that a man named “Ahmed Ismael, who is the leader of the terrorist group and who lives in Sweden, was arrested in the -Sleep as a result of information exchange with European, African and Asian security services ”.
The UAE has played a key diplomatic role in bringing Ethiopia and Eritrea’s long-term adversaries since Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s prime minister in 2018, while also making financial contributions to Ethiopia’s economy. stable.