In news- Recently, Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency with immediate effect after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) claimed to have captured several towns in recent days.
About the current crisis-
The TPLF had dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades but lost much influence when Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018 following years of anti-government protests.
About Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)-
- TPLF is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitary group, now leading political party, and former ruling party of Ethiopia, and designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government under Abiy Ahmed.
- It was established in 1975 at Dedebit, northwestern Tigray.
- It is widely known as Woyane, Weyane, Wayana or Wayane in older texts and Amharic publications.
Ethiopia-Country profile-
- The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern part of Africa commonly known as the Horn of Africa.
- It is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world.
- It is the 10th largest country in Africa and 2nd most populous country in Africa after Nigeria.
- It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Somalia and Djibouti in the east, Eritrea in the north and Kenya in the south.
- It is composed of 9 National Regional States (NRS) and two administrative councils – Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.
- The official currency of Ethiopia is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB).
- From the north and running down the center are the Abyssinian highlands.
- To the west of the chain the land drops to the grasslands of Sudan, to the east to the deserts of the Afar.
- South of Addis Ababa, the land is dominated by the Rift Valley Lakes.
- The Ethiopian peoples comprise about eighty nationalities of which the Amhara and the Oromo constitute the majority, with about 60 percent of the total population.
- The most famous Ethiopian river is the Blue Nile or Abbay, which flows a distance of 1,450 kilometers from its source to join the White Nile at Khartoum.
- Amharic or Amharigna is the official language of Ethiopia.
- Other main languages including Oromigna and Tigrigna are also widely spoken.
- The oldest remains of a human ancestor ever found, which have been dated as being some five million years old, were discovered in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia.
- This beats the discovery of “Lucy”, a 3.2 million year old skeleton, who was unearthed in the same area in 1974.
Source: The Indian Express
