Three years ago, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed raised an army from the country’s militias to tame a rebellion in the northern region of Tigray. But members of a larger group of forces from the Amhara region that came to Ahmed’s aid are now vowing to overthrow him after his government moved to absorb them into the regular army. Political analysts say it could crack open the fragile web of ethnic alliances and rivalries that define modern-day Ethiopia. Moreover, ethnic Amharas comprise nearly a third of the population—far more than the 6% who are Tigrayan—raising the stakes considerably. “Abiy’s divide-and-rule policies to centralize power in Addis Ababa are failing,” said Zev Faintuch, an intelligence analyst with Virginia-based security firm Global Guardian, which offers emergency-response services in Ethiopia.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 25, 2023 03:16 UTC