Ethiopian journalist and his friend shot dead in Tigray

Police tape

Dawit Kebede and his friend were shot and killed on Tuesday evening. 

Photo credit: File

An Ethiopian journalist was on Tuesday shot and killed in the capital of the troubled northern Tigray region.

Dawit Kebede’s colleagues told the BBC that Dawit and his friend were shot dead by unknown gunmen while they were in vehicle on Tuesday evening.

"Both were shot in their head and their bodies were found in a vehicle they were driving," one aid worker told Reuters.

When asked by the BBC about the journalist's death, Walta Haregot, head of security at the newly formed Tigray Regional Administration, said he had no information about the incident.

The second victim was the brother of another journalist working for Tigray Television.

Dawit, who quit his job in November amid escalating military conflict in the Tigray region, had reportedly returned to work several days ago.

The regional television station, which had been suspended following the capture of Mekele by the defense forces, began broadcasting recently.

After he resumed work, Dawit was arrested and jailed for several days, according to his colleagues.

Officials in the regional capital have not yet commented on the arrest, but a colleague said he had been detained for three days before he was killed.

Since late November, when the city fell into the hands of federal forces, a night curfew beginning 6pm remains imposed.

Before working for the regional government-run Tigray television, Dawit previously worked for ETV for several years.

After leaving ETV, he started his own Tigrigna magazine. He later worked at the Tigray Television in Addis Ababa until its closure late last year.

Following the closure of the Addis Ababa offices, he returned to the main station in Mekele where he worked until his time of death.