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| - As Ethiopia declares a state of emergency in the northern Tigray region after reporting a deadly "attack" on an army camp, we trace the key developments since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018: In February 2018, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigns after several years of anti-government protests. In April, Abiy is sworn in as premier, becoming the first leader from the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia's largest. Oromos and the country's second-biggest group, the Amharas, had fuelled the protest movement denouncing perceived economic and political marginalisation at the hands of the ruling coalition, dominated by the Tigrayan group. But with the authoritarian coalition now dissolved, ethnic violence has emerged as a persistent problem under Abiy, regularly resulting in bloodshed and mass displacement. In July 2018, Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea sign a landmark peace accord, ending a bitter stalemate that dated back to the two countries' 1998-2000 border war. Abiy also earns plaudits for domestic political reforms such as lifting bans on opposition parties. He vows to hold free and fair elections in 2020. In October 2019 he is named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. In March 2020 the electoral commission announces that national elections scheduled for August need to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. In June, lawmakers approve letting Abiy remain in power beyond the initial period of his mandate. The opposition accuses him of using the health crisis to cling to power. Following the shooting death in June of a popular Oromo singer, more than 160 people are killed in inter-ethnic violence and altercations with security forces. And on Sunday, in the latest in a series of attacks targeting Amharas, an armed group massacres at least 34 civilians, with Amnesty International putting the death toll at 54. On Wednesday, Ethiopia declares a state of emergency in Tigray after Abiy orders a military response to a deadly "traitorous" attack by the region's ruling party on a camp housing federal troops. Abiy had said earlier on social media that the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) "has attacked a military camp" in the region and "tried to loot" military assets. burs-eab/rcb/np/ri
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