Attempted military coup in Eritrea shuts down state TV: reports

A group of soldiers may have taken over the government, forcing state TV off air.

A group of soldiers have attempted a military coup in the Eritrean capital, Asmara [2], RFI reported on Monday. According to local sources, the state TV station has been forced off air.

The reports orginated from the English language website, asmarino.com [3], which posted a link to a YouTube video showing the TV station off air.

According to RFI, the station's boss, Asmelash Abreha, read a statement saying that political prisoners would be freed just prior to the broadcast being cut.

There have been rumors of the Eritrean's president's death for some time [4]. President Aferwerki made a TV appearance in April last year to refute the reports.

Eritrea's state TV station taken off air.