As Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed replaces his army chief on Sunday amid an escalating conflict in the northern Tigray region, here are the key developments since Abiy came to power in 2018:
First leader from biggest ethnic group
In February 2018, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigns after several years of anti-government protests.
In April, Abiy is sworn in as premier, becoming the first leader from the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest.
Ethnic divisions
Oromos and the country’s second-biggest group, the Amharas, had fuelled the protest movement over perceived marginalisation at the hands of the ruling coalition, dominated by the Tigrayan group.
But with the authoritarian coalition now dissolved, ethnic violence has emerged as a persistent problem under Abiy, regularly resulting in bloodshed and mass displacement.
Peace deal, Nobel prize
In July 2018, Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea sign a landmark peace accord, ending a bitter stalemate that dated back to the two countries’ 1998-2000 border war.
Abiy also earns plaudits for domestic political reforms such as lifting bans on opposition parties.
In October 2019 he is named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Elections postponed
In March 2020 the electoral commission announces national elections scheduled for August must be postponed due to the pandemic.
In June, lawmakers approve letting Abiy remain in power beyond the initial period of his mandate. The opposition accuses him of using the health crisis to cling to power.
Internal conflict
On November 4, Ethiopia declares a state of emergency in Tigray after Abiy orders a military response to a deadly “traitorous” attack by the region’s ruling party on a camp housing federal troops.
Abiy had said earlier on social media that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) “has attacked a military camp” in the region.
On Saturday, with fighting in the conflict intensifying, lawmakers vote to suspend Tigray’s current leaders and install a caretaker administration.
On Sunday Abiy’s office says deputy army chief Berhanu Jula will take over the Ethiopian National Defence Force, without giving a reason or specifying the fate of Berhanu’s predecessor.
