ADDIS ABABA — The chief of staff of the Ethiopian Army and at least three other senior officials were killed in different parts of the country when a general tried to seize control of the northern state of Amhara in an attempted coup, the prime minister’s office said on Sunday.

A spokesman for Ethiopia’s prime minister told The Associated Press that the army chief, Gen. Seare Mekonnen, had been shot dead at his residence in the capital, Addis Ababa, by his bodyguard. He said a retired army general visiting the army chief at the time had also been killed in the same attack late on Saturday.

Amhara’s state president, Ambachew Mekonnen — who is an ally of the prime minister — and Mr. Ambachew’s adviser, Gize Abera, were also killed in the region, according to state media.

“He was shot by people who are close to him,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said of Mr. Ambachew in a televised address on Saturday.