Abiy ahmed
First aid convoy in three months to enter Ethiopia's Tigray soon: UN
The arrival of aid in Tigray could help shore up the shaky ceasefire between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
At least 750 civilians were killed or executed in Ethiopia's Amhara and Afar regions after they became caught up in the war last year, the country's rights body said.
Northern Ethiopia has been beset by conflict since November 2020 when Ahmed sent troops into Tigray after accusing the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacks on federal army camps.
As fighting drags on between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, reports of massacres, mass rapes and a starvation crisis have emerged.
The cabinet was approved by a majority vote in the lower house of parliament, with two votes against and 12 abstentions.
Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by violence since November after Abiy, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, sent troops into Tigray to topple its regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), vowing a swift victory.
Tigrayan forces this week claimed a series of battlefield gains in a renewed assault that comes two weeks after the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the face of rebel advances.
This is the first time he faced voters since being appointed prime minister in 2018 following several years of anti-government protests.
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner's remarks came one week after Tigray's capital Mekele fell to the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) rebel group and Abiy's government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the eight-month-old conflict.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, sent troops into Tigray last November to oust the northern region's former ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
Some 38 million were registered to vote but many must wait until September, with elections postponed or cancelled in one-fifth of national constituencies because of war, insecurity and logistical problems.
It is the first electoral test for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 44, who rose to power in 2018 championing a democratic revival in Africa's second most populous country, and a break from its authoritarian past.
In an April speech Abiy Ahmed told supporters, in his trademark folksy language, that while Ethiopia might seem riven by crises, the real problem was one of perception.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, appointed in 2018 after years of anti-government unrest, craves a popular mandate through competitive elections to cement a promised democratic rebirth in Africa's second-most populous nation.
Ethiopia's polls are scheduled for June 21, but officials say insecurity and logistical challenges make voting impossible -- at least for now -- in at least 26 constituencies across the country.
The announcement comes as Abiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, faces mounting pressure to end fighting in which both Eritrean and Ethiopian troops stand accused of abuses including mass killings and rapes.
Blinken said there were a "growing number of credible reports of atrocities and human rights violations and abuses."
It was the first visit by a foreign leader since fighting broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray region on November 4, creating a humanitarian crisis.
Ahmed assured the AU delegate that he will implement a string of interventions including responding to essential humanitarian needs.