Ethiopian lawmakers voted on Saturday to replace the current government of the federal state of Tigray, after the Army launched air strikes to destroy military assets in the region in a worsening internal conflict.
Fears are mounting over the prospect of civil war after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed despatched federal troops and launched air strikes in the region and aircraft into the region with which Addis Ababa has been embroiled in a bitter feud.
Mr. Abiy said on Friday that air strikes had already neutralised “rockets that can hit a range of 300 km from where they are stationed in Mekele City and other places in the vicinity”, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported.
Three days after he announced a military operation against the State’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who he has described as a “criminal clique” bent on destabilising the country, lawmakers voted to abolish the State government.
The upper house of Parliament “passed a decision to abolish the existing illegal Tigray regional Assembly and Executive, and for a caretaker administration to be formed,” the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.
The house of federation’s decision was based on a legal provision allowing federal intervention in a region deemed to have “violated the Constitution and endangered the constitutional system.”
“The caretaker administration will be mandated with conducting a constitutionally acceptable election and to implement decisions passed on by the federal government,” the EBC said.
Despite growing international alarm, Mr. Abiy has vowed there will be more air strikes on Tigray, defending his move towards conflict as a “limited” operation” necessary to restore law and order to the region.
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