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Risk of Conflict Rising Between 2 Ethiopia Regional Powers, Report Finds

Simon Marks

   ADDIS ABABA - Tension between Amhara and Tigray, two of Ethiopia's most
   powerful regions, is increasing as the country approaches elections
   next year, says a new International Crisis Group report. The northern
   Tigray region, which ruled the country for nearly three decades, has
   been ostracized by the federal government in Addis Ababa, raising the
   risk of military conflict in the north. The two regions also share a
   contested border and are at odds over when federal elections should be
   held.

   Increased competition involving Ethiopia's patchwork of ethnic groups
   and political parties has been a hallmark of the government formed by
   Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, due to greater social and political freedoms
   granted by his administration.

   But it is the dispute between the Amhara and Tigray regions, the new
   report says, that "is arguably the bitterest of these contests, fueled
   in part by rising ethnic nationalism in both regions."

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