Top Ethiopian army generals said reshuffled

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 25, 2004 (Addis Admas) — Sources say there was a reshuffle of senior army officers in the Ministry of Defence this week.

The sources said Maj-Gen Tadese Worede replaced Maj-Gen Alemshet Degfie as commander of the air force. They said Maj-Gen Alemshet Degfie, who replaced Maj-Gen Abebe Teklehaimanot who was dismissed in the wake of the split within the Central Committee of the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front), dominant party in the ruling coalition, is likely to have been appointed as minister of state. They noted that Maj-Gen Tadese Worede was responsible for training and education at the Ministry of Defence.

The sources added that Maj-Gen Bacha Debele was moved to Harer, in eastern Ethiopia, Maj-Gen Se’are Mekonen to Mekele, the capital of Tigray Regional State, in northern Ethiopia, Maj-Gen Abebaw Tadese to Shire, in northern Ethiopia, bordering Eritrea, and Brig-Gen Teklay Ashebr to the Bure front, in eastern Ethiopia on the side of Assab a port in southeastern Eritrea.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service, original text in Amharic.