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  Ethiopia moved Saturday to replace the leadership in the country’s northern Tigray region, where clashes between regional forces and those of the federal government have led to fears that a major African power could slide into civil war. Neither side appeared to welcome the dialogue that experts say is needed to avert disaster. The vote by the upper house of parliament, the House of Federation, to set up an interim administration needs no further approval, and it gives Prime Minister  Abiy Ahmed  the power to carry out the measures against a  Tigray leadership  his government regards as illegal. Ethiopia ’s federal government said the interim administration will “appoint officials, ensure the respect for rule of law, approve the region’s budget and facilitate the process of conducting elections.” In a new statement Saturday, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister asserted that “criminal elements cannot escape the rule of law under the guise of se...

  Sudan has partially closed its border with Ethiopia, according to Suna, the Sudanese news agency.     The closure was announced Thursday by the acting Wali (governor) of Kassala State and Secretary General of the state’s government, Fathal-Rahman Al-Amin, according to Suna.   He said a committee will decide what to do about civilians seeking refuge in Sudan.   The move follows tension in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray where the federal government has launched a military campaign.     The Ethiopian Air Force reportedly bombed military facilities in Tigray on Friday.   On Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered troops into Tigray in reaction to a deadly attack on a federal military base in the regional capital, Mekele.   Abiy’s administration blames the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the regional government, for the attack.   Source: VOA News 

  Prime Minister Ahmed launched a “limited” military operation to “restore constitutional order” in the northern state of Tigray. Analysts say the move risks domestic and regional stability. On November 3, the Ethiopian government  accused  the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party governing National Regional State of Tigray, of attacking an Ethiopian Defence Forces base in their state “to rob the Northern command of artillery and military equipment.”  The “last red line has been crossed,” said the statement from the Prime Minister's office in an ominous tone.  Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the TPLF's alleged attack on federal military installations forced Addis Ababa into a “military confrontation,” slamming the door shut on the possibility of dialogue.  Speaking to state television the night the operation was launched, Prime Minister Ahmed reassured the public  saying  that the “army not only repulsed the attacks but has managed to...

  Suddenly, Ethiopia appears on the brink of civil war, threatening the stability of one of the world’s most strategic regions, the Horn of Africa, and the fracturing of one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries. But the crisis in Ethiopia, a key U.S. security ally, has been building for months. According to the deputy director of the International Crisis Group’s Africa program, Dino Mahtani, “it has been like watching a train crash in slow motion.” An the International Crisis Group said this week. Now Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for sweeping political reforms, faces the sharpest consequences yet of the country’s recent shifts in power. Two things occurred early Wednesday morning: Communications were cut in Ethiopia’s heavily armed northern Tigray region, and Abiy announced he had ordered troops to respond to an alleged deadly attack by Tigray’s forces on a military base there. Both sides have accused each other o...

  Ethiopia's army said Thursday the country has been forced into an "unexpected and aimless war'' with its powerful Tigray region, while Tigray asserted that fighter jets had bombed areas around its capital - a marked escalation with little sign of the two sides willing to talk to calm the crisis. Ethiopia's army deputy chief said military forces are being sent to the fighting from other parts of the country. ``The army will not go anywhere,'' Birhanu Jula told reporters, amid fears that the conflict would spill into other regions of Africa's second-most populous nation. "The war will end there.'' For his part, the Tigray region's president, Debretsion Gebremichael, told reporters that ``we are in position to defend ourselves from enemies that waged war on the Tigray region. ... We are ready to be martyrs." Ethiopia's government has not commented on the bombing allegation, read out Thursday evening on the Tigray region...

  Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi spoke on the phone on Wednesday. The pair discussed different ways to strengthen the relationship between the UAE and Egypt and increase co-operation across a variety of fields. Sheikh Mohamed and Mr El Sisi also reviewed the latest regional and international developments of mutual interest. They exchanged views on the current developments, challenges and crises witnessed by the Arab region. The two leaders said they were keen to continue their consultations and co-ordination between each country "to enhance the fraternal ties and achieve security, stability, peace and development for the region and its peoples," The bonds of friendship between Egypt and the UAE predate the Emirates' foundation. Founding Father Sheikh Zayed met then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in Cairo in 1970, and again in 1...

As the world's attention remained on the American elections, Ethiopia seemed on the brink of war. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an attack against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the state government in charge of Ethiopia's northernmost region. Abiy accused the TPLF of attacking a federal military base in the overnight hours on Tuesday. "The last red line has been crossed with this morning's attacks and the Federal government is therefore forced into a military confrontation," a statement issued by his office read. In a statement on state television, Abiy said that the initial attack by Tigrayan forces had resulted in "many martyrs, injuries and property damage." Phone lines and the Internet were interrupted in Tigray, so it was not possible to independently assess any damage or casualties. Abiy's government also announced a six month state of emergency in the Tigray region. On a tele...