Ethiopia: Abiy’s new crisis

[Deeq A.]

Ethiopia is facing another crisis.

Just eight months after the end of a bloody war between the government and the restive Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s forces are battling a rebel group in the northern Amhara area.

It’s a setback for Abiy, who’s been working to repair his reputation after the two-year war against Tigray in which some researchers estimate 300,000 civilians died. Government troops were severely criticized for their conduct during that conflict.

Abiy at a rally in April 2018. Photographer: Zacharias Abubeker/AFP/ Getty Images

The latest flare up has led to the declaration of a state of emergency in the country’s second-most populous region, with flights halted and the internet shut off. There’s been fierce fighting between federal soldiers and the Fano militia.

Tensions have been rising since an April announcement that regional militias would be integrated into the army or police, starting with those in Amhara.

That decision added fuel to simmering discontent. Many in Amhara feel they were sidelined in the peace agreement with Tigrayan leaders despite the key role their militiamen played in the war against the separatists.

For Abiy, bringing the dispute to a quick conclusion is essential.

The insecurity in Africa’s second-most populous nation is another sign of just how far the stock of both Abiy and Ethiopia has fallen.

In 2019, he won a Nobel Peace Prize for ending a decades-old conflict with Eritrea. Ethiopia, then one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, was seen as the next big investment destination on the continent.

Now it appears to be a fragile federation of more than 90 ethnic groups whom Abiy is struggling to keep under one roof. 

Source: Bloomberg

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