ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been sworn in for a second five-year term running a country in the grip of a nearly year-long war.
Abiy’s
Prosperity Party was declared the winner of parliamentary elections earlier
this year in a vote criticized and at times boycotted by opposition parties but
described by some outside electoral observers as better run than those in the
past.
The
prime minister, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner for restoring ties with
neighboring Eritrea and for pursuing sweeping political reforms, now faces
major challenges as war in the Tigray region spreads into other parts of the
country, deadly ethnic violence continues and watchdogs warn that repressive
government practices are on the return.
Abiy
is expected to made a speech later on Monday.
The
11-month war is weakening Ethiopia’s economy, once one of Africa’s
fastest-growing, and threatening to isolate Abiy, once seen as a regional
peacemaker. Just three African heads of state — from Nigeria, Senegal and
neighboring Somalia — were attending Monday’s ceremony.
Ethiopia’s
government last week faced condemnation from the United Nations, United States
and several European nations after it expelled seven U.N. officials it accused
of supporting the Tigray forces who have been battling Ethiopian and allied
forces.
The
government is under growing pressure as people begin to starve to death in
Tigray under what the U.N. has called a “de facto humanitarian blockade.” Last
week the U.N. humanitarian chief told The Associated Press that the situation
in Ethiopia is a “stain on our conscience.”
The
U.S. has threatened further sanctions if humanitarian access to Tigray isn’t
granted soon and the warring sides don’t take steps toward peace. - AP
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