Tag Archives: Abiy Ahmed

Somaliland’s newfound strategic importance has been both a gift and a curse. GettyImages Matthew Gordon, SOAS, University of London While the rest of the Horn of Africa region is making waves on the battlefield, the tiny, self-declared republic of Somaliland has been having its presence felt where representative democracy and open debate lurk. In the halls of the UK Parliament, …

Supporters of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice opposition party rally at Maskel Square in Addis Ababa, on June 16, 2021. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images Yohannes Gedamu, Georgia Gwinnett College After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later for logistical challenges, millions of Ethiopians go to the polls on Monday. Held in the midst of historic …

Workers mount a billboard of Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed on the eve of his campaign visit in Jimma. Photo by Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images Mohammed Girma, University of Roehampton Barely three years ago, little-known Abiy Ahmed burst onto the Ethiopian political scene at the height of another tumultuous period in the country’s history. He quickly won national admiration …

Ethiopian soldiers in 2005 on a hilltop outpost overlooking the northern town of Badme, in the Tigray region. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee At the core of the current war between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front is the realignment of politics and the contest for political hegemony. In my view, …

Ethiopian refugees who fled the fighting in Tigray Region are pictured at Um Rakuba camp in Eastern Sudan. Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images Namhla Matshanda, University of the Western Cape From a historical standpoint, the current conflict in Ethiopia fits within an established political pattern. There have been power struggles between the centre and the border regions since the modern …

A man enters a polling station for Tigray’s regional elections, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deemed illegal. EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images Francesca Baldwin, University of Reading and Heike I Schmidt, University of Reading Ethiopia’s government, under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is carrying out a military offensive in Tigray, Ethiopia’s most northern state. A six month state of emergency has …

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed (centre) pictured outside his office awaiting dignitaries in February 2020. EPA-EFE/STR Yohannes Gedamu, Georgia Gwinnett College For three years, between 2015 and early 2018, there were popular protests across Ethiopia, but particularly in the country’s two largest regions – Oromia and Amhara. The popular discontent was driven by the 27-year-long marginalisation of most ethnic …

Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki in China in the 1960s. He is fifth from the left, rear row. Martin Plaut, School of Advanced Study There are few leaders as enigmatic as Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki. In my book, Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State, I profile the president who led the country as it fought for its freedom from Ethiopia …