Amid a flurry of government reappointments instigated by recent ethnic violence, Ethiopia's premier on Tuesday replaced the country's defense minister. Lemma had diverged with Abiy, opposing the formation of the Prosperity Party formally supplanting the former Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a four-party coalition that firmly ruled the country for 27 years. The Prosperity Party did away with party lines that divided the EPRDF on an ethnic basis, which Lemma argues would have been better at upholding the government's federal system. Deadly clashes and destruction had ensued in various places in Oromia, the most populous regional state. He also appointed Endawek Abte as deputy director-general of the Metals Engineering Corporation, Fekadu Tsega as deputy attorney general and Hirut Woldemariam as social sector advisor to the prime minister.

Source: Ethiopian News August 18, 2020 12:56 UTC