Abraham Teklu Lemma, a former US government contractor, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass classified national defense information to Ethiopia. The 54-year-old, who previously worked for the State Department, Justice Department, and National Reconnaissance Office, provided information to senior Ethiopian officials from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023. An FBI official said Ethiopian authorities used the intelligence in military operations, though the specific operations and any casualties were not disclosed. The leak began during Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 war with Tigrayan fighters, a conflict researchers estimate killed about 500,000 people through violence, famine, and health-system collapse. Lemma faces a prison term of 10 to nearly 22 years and is due for sentencing in April 2027.