In Focus | Ethiopia
Abiy purged his military high command to prepare for his war against the TPLF

As soon as he arrived in power in 2018, the Ethiopian prime minister announced that he planned to reform the Ethiopian army high command, which he saw as a Tigrayan leadership stronghold. The reform, which was carried out quietly over two years, enabled Abiy to remove officers too closely linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front. As a result, the high command currently leading the military offensive in Tigray has been largely purged. [...]
Reading time 8 minutes Antoine Galindo
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. © Annegret Hilse/SVEN SIMON/picture alliance/SvenSimon/Newscom/MaxPPP
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Eritrea, Ethiopia
The triggers of Tigray's crisis

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has for weeks been working on reconciliation with Eritrea in an effort to break the Cairo-Asmara-Abu Dhabi axis. It was fear of having to pay the price for this rapprochement that leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front - who have repeatedly clashed with Eritrea - rebelled against the Ethiopian federal army last week.

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