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Ethiopia

A view of the city of Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, on June 19, 2021.

Military & Security

Politics

Renewed conflict between Amhara special forces and the Ethiopian military is endangering the country's fragile peace and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's mandate.

Unrest in Amhara Threatens to Destabilize Northern Ethiopia's Tenuous Peace

Eritrea

Ethiopian military forces transport a Saeer KS-19 automatic 100 mm anti-aircraft gun Dec. 5, 2021, in Shewa Robit, Ethiopia.

A successful peace deal would facilitate humanitarian aid flows, increase regional access to services and spur the eventual return of foreign investment.

Tigrayan Rebels Begin Surrendering Their Heavy Weapons, a Hopeful Sign for Ethiopia

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Women sit under U.N.-branded cardboard boxes in Semera, Ethiopia, on Feb. 14, 2022, as they wait to be registered by the authorities at a hotel compound hosting civilians fleeing violence. 

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GBV is often primarily seen as a women’s and human rights issue. But in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also a key constraint to stable (and democratic) governance, economic growth, and lasting peace.

The Geopolitics of Gender-Based Violence in Africa

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In this scorecard, we take a critical look at our successes and slip-ups in forecasting geopolitical events over the past year.

Grading Our 2022 Annual Forecast as 2023 Approaches

Assessments

Egypt

Egyptian pounds on Aug. 25, 2022.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An Egypt-IMF Meeting, South Africa Votes on an Impeachment Inquiry

Redwan Hussein (second from the left), a representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda (second from the right), a representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), sign a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa, on Nov. 2, 2022.

The government has inked a preliminary deal with Tigrayan rebels to end their two-year war. But historical grievances, implementation challenges, mistrust and third-party spoilers will risk returning the country to violence.

 In Ethiopia, Will a 'Permanent' Cessation of Hostilities Actually Install Lasting Peace?

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Liz Truss resigns as British prime minister on Oct. 20, 2022, in London.

The Weekly Rundown: A New British Prime Minister, China's Party Congress Ends

A truck, carrying grains to Tigray and belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP), burns out on a route 80 kilometers from Semera in northeastern Ethiopia, on June 10, 2022. 

Clashes between the government and TPLF rebels will likely persist through at least the end of the year, further complicating efforts to resolve the conflict and mitigate the country's growing humanitarian crisis.

What's Next for Ethiopia's Civil War Amid Renewed Fighting in Tigray?

A general view shows the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on Feb. 19, 2022. 

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

The unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) risks setting a dangerous precedent for how the region's increasingly scarce water supplies will be governed.


The Long-Term Water Politics of Ethiopia's Nile River Mega-Dam

Media

Podcasts

Violence in Ethiopia flares amid the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Essential Geopolitics: Fighting Between Ethiopia's Government and Tigray Rebels Resumes

Angola

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Zambia

Newly elected Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema delivers a speech during his inauguration at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Aug. 24, 2021. 

Beijing's first foray into debt restructuring under the G-20 framework will offer insight into China's potential position in other African countries' creditor talks.

What Zambian Debt Talks Could Mean for Chinese Borrowers in Africa

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Bogota, Colombia, on June 14, 2022. Colombia will hold the second round of its presidential elections June 19, with anti-establishment candidate Rodolfo Hernandez and left-wing opposition figure Gustavo Petro competing for the presidency.

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Courts Refiners, Colombia Holds Its Presidential Runoff

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on April 23 that the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group would begin peace negotiations in Tanzania on April 25, Addis Standard reported the next day.

Ethiopia: Government and OLA to Begin Negotiations

Ghana

China and multilateral lenders like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in talks over how to break the ongoing global debt-restructuring impasse, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 11.

Africa: Multilateral Creditors and Beijing May Be Close to Debt Restructuring Compromise

Getachew Reda, the newly appointed interim president of the Tigray region, announced that the interim administration's primary objective is to protect territorial integrity, Addis Standard reported on March 25.

Ethiopia: Newly Appointed Tigray Interim President Outlines Priorities

Ethiopia's parliament voted in favor of removing the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) from the country's list of designated terrorist organizations, AP reported on March 22.

Ethiopia: Parliament Votes to Remove TPLF's Terrorist Designation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on March 20 that all sides of the Tigrayan war -- including the Ethiopian National Defense Force, the Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara regional militias and Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) combatants -- committed war crimes during the two-year civil war, Reuters reported the next day.

Ethiopia: Officials Condemn U.S. Allegations That 'All Sides' Committed War Crimes

Tigrayans are facing renewed cash shortages as banks restrict the amount of money depositors can withdraw due to widespread cash hoarding, Addis Standard reported March 14.

Ethiopia: Cash Shortages, Banking Disruptions Persist in Tigray 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with leaders of the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to discuss the implementation of the November 2022 peace agreement, the Daily Monitor reported Feb. 4.

Ethiopia: Abiy, TPLF Leaders Meet for First Time Since Beginning of Civil War

Ethiopia's rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) refuted claims by the African Union mediator Olusegun Obasanjo on Jan. 15 that Eritrean forces have withdrawn from the Tigray region, the BBC reported Jan. 19. 

Ethiopia: TPLF Claims Eritrean Forces Still Present in Tigray

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

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A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

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Ethiopia is an ancient African country bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Ethiopia's relatively large population of 100 million people has helped the country establish itself as a regional heavyweight in East Africa. Its extensive mountain system, which surrounds the fertile lowland core of the country, is key to understanding Ethiopia's diverse ethnic composition and how it relates to its neighbors. Invasion is not a major concern for Ethiopia, as the northern Ethiopian Plateau and the Ahmar Mountains almost completely surround the lowlands. In the northeast, the Awash River Basin opens to the coastline, but even this area gains a certain measure of protection from its extreme desert conditions. The country's capital, Addis Ababa, sits at an elevated position overseeing the lowlands, where the majority Oromo and Amharic peoples merge with several less populous mountain cultures. Ethiopia's greatest challenge is uniting these disparate groups. Financially, Ethiopia's export and import costs are high because neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea block its sea access. North of the lowland core, the Ethiopian Plateau serves as the country's breadbasket, growing wheat, barley, corn and the staple crop teff. These highlands form an extensive drainage system that creates the most fertile land in the region. Within this region lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, which is the largest tributary of the greater Nile River. Much of Ethiopia's coffee is grown at the fertile apex of the Ahmar Mountains, which are south of the lowlands. Those mountains descend into the arid Ogaden desert, which was acquired in the 19th century and remains disconnected from the core. While it provides Ethiopia with strategic depth to protect it from the issues of its unstable neighbor Somalia, the desert is also home to separatist and Somali militants, which pose a threat to the Ethiopian state.

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The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) said on Jan. 12 that members of Amhara special forces withdrew from within and around Shire, a town about 140 kilometers (about 75 miles) northwest of the Tigray region’s capital Mekele, Addis Standard reported Jan. 13.

Ethiopia: Military Says Amhara Special Forces Are Leaving Tigrayan Town

SITUATION REPORTS

Ethiopia: Government and OLA to Begin Negotiations

Africa: Multilateral Creditors and Beijing May Be Close to Debt Restructuring Compromise

Ethiopia: Newly Appointed Tigray Interim President Outlines Priorities

Ethiopia: Parliament Votes to Remove TPLF's Terrorist Designation

Ethiopia: Officials Condemn U.S. Allegations That 'All Sides' Committed War Crimes

Ethiopia: Cash Shortages, Banking Disruptions Persist in Tigray

Ethiopia: Abiy, TPLF Leaders Meet for First Time Since Beginning of Civil War

Ethiopia: TPLF Claims Eritrean Forces Still Present in Tigray

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