Crisis Chronology

ETHIOPIA

01/01/2024

Ethiopia agrees to recognize Somaliland in exchange for a lease on 20 km of coastline. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somali objects. The proposed deal has been backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which remains a strong supporter of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy.

08/24/2023

At BRICS summit meeting, the group invites six countries to become members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

08/04/2023

Government declares state of emergency after days of fighting in Amhara province between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).

06/30/2023

Government applies to join the BRICS bloc.

03/16/2023

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Ethiopia, part of a wider trip to Africa and amid concern about Islamist militants in the Sahel.

01/27/2023

Sudan leader al-Burhan says that Sudan and Ethiopia are in substantial agreement about GERD.

11/02/2022

Government and Tigrayan leaders agree to a truce, disarmament, and access to humanitarian aid.

10/21/2022

Tigray rebels agree to attend peace talks with Ethiopian government in South Africa.

10/20/2022

Abiy says that the war in Tigray will end and accepts on offer for peace talks with Tigrayan rebels in South Africa on 10/24.

10/17/2022

Government forces take three towns in Tigray.

10/16/2022

With increased fighting in Tigray, the AU calls for an immediate ceasefire.

09/14/2022

Second day of airstrikes in Tigray.

09/13/2022

Drone airstrike hits Tigrayan region, according to reports.

09/12/2022

Tigrayan forces say they accept peace talks brokered by the African Union and propose a ceasefire.

09/09/2022

Tigrayan rebels offer truce if they can be assured of “unhindered humanitarian access” and the return of essential services to Tigray.

09/01/2022

Tigray accuses Ethiopia and Eritrea of launching a joint offensive against it.

08/31/2022

Ethiopia accuses Tigrayan forces of an offensive outside the region. Tigrayan officials say that Ethiopia has hit the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, with airstrikes.

07/28/2022

Al Shabab conducts multiday campaign inside Ethiopia for the first time.

07/06/2022

Ethiopian President Abiy says he has reached an agreement with Sudan junta leader al-Burhan to settle their border dispute peacefully.

06/14/2022

Abiy Ahmed announces that a committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, to negotiate with the Tigray rebels has been formed.

06/14/2022

Joint attack by the Oromo Liberation Army and the Gambela Liberation Front on Gambela City.

04/18/2022

Drought worsens in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia as rainy season remains dry.

03/25/2022

Ceasefire declared

Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front agrees to a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid to be delivered to Tigray.

03/24/2022

Government announces a unilateral truce in the war with Tigrayan rebels.

02/20/2022

Ethiopia begins operation of the GERD turbines.

02/15/2022

Parliament ends state of emergency imposed during fighting with Tigrayan forces.

02/11/2022

EU envoy “cautiously optimistic” about ceasefire in Tigray.

02/08/2022

Severe drought in Horn of Africa threatens famine for millions in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Three seasons of dry rainy seasons have decimated harvests and forced migration.

01/12/2022

Opposition leader and founder of the Balderas for Genuine Democracy party, Eskind Nega, pardoned on 1/7/22 along with many other political detainees, says his group will take part in the national dialogue.

01/06/2022

Abiy calls for a national dialogue to promote reconciliation. The military says it will not advance further into Tigray.

01/01/2022

US removes Ethiopia, Guinea, and Mali from duty-free trade program over those countries alleged human rights abuses.

12/21/2021

Tigrayan rebels retreat from territory held outside Tigray, suggesting a ceasefire may be possible. Ethiopia’s forces have been successful in using drone bombers that have been supplied by the UAE, Turkey, and Iran.

12/07/2021

Government says it has retaken two important towns from the Tigrayan forces.

12/01/2021

Government says it has retaken some towns taken by the Tigrayan forces.

11/28/2021

Sudan accuses Ethiopia of launching an attack across its border. Ethiopia denies the charge.

11/16/2021

UN alerts that there have been mass arrests of people of Tigrayan origin across Ethiopia.

11/11/2021

Government sets conditions for ceasefire with Tigrayan rebels: stop fighting, leave Amhara and Afar, and recognize the legitimacy of the Abiy government. Rebels dismiss the conditions.

11/07/2021

Demonstrations in favor of the war dismiss calls for diplomacy. Tigrayan forces continue to advance to Addis Ababa, but the TPLF says it does not aim to take over Addis Ababa but would negotiate as long is Abiy is replaced.

11/05/2021

Tigrayan Liberation Front forms an alliance with the Oromo Liberation Army, called the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist Forces.

11/03/2021

Tigrayan forces advancing steadily toward Addis Ababa.

10/25/2021

Government steps up aerial attacks on Tigray. TPLF continues to advance in Amhara.

10/21/2021

Bombing of Tigray continues.

10/11/2021

Tigray rebels say that government has launched a major attack on them in Amhara.

09/30/2021

Government expels several UN officials for “meddling” in the country’s affairs.

09/28/2021

Foreign minister accuses the US and its allies of supporting the Tigrayan rebel forces. The US has sanctioned both Eritrean officials and Ethiopia in effort to force them to negotiate a peace.

09/26/2021

Sudan says it has repelled an attack by Ethiopian forces. Many refugees from the Tigray conflict have fled to Sudan.

08/12/2021

Oromo Liberation Army announces alliance with Tigrayan forces.

08/10/2021

Government calls for mass enlistment to fight Tigrayan forces as they advance toward Addis Ababa and the Ethiopian army continues to lose ground.

08/05/2021

Increasing indications of civil war in Ethiopia as militia groups widen fighting. There is concern that the country will break up into the different regions that were united under Haile Selassie. Militias in Afar are fighting in the far-eastern Somali region. Militias from Amhara are fighting the Tigrayans because both claim territory in Afar. Bodies from the fighting are floating downriver to Somalia. The humanitarian crisis is affecting a substantial part of the Tigrayan population.

07/05/2021

Ethiopia begins filling GERD again, angering Egypt.

06/29/2021

Tigrayan rebels, now calling themselves the Tigrayan Defense Forces, reject ceasefire and threaten to widen the fighting to the Amhara region.

06/28/2021

Government troops leave Mekele, Tigray capital, in the face of rebel attacks and government declares a unilateral ceasefire.

06/23/2021

Renewed offensive attacks by Tigrayan rebels drive back government forces.

06/21/2021

Parliamentary elections seen as a referendum on Abiy’s government, though his Prosperity Party is expected to retain control. Turnout is initially high. It is the first election in which multiple parties can contest the polls. Some districts will not vote until 9/6, due to unrest. There is no election date for Tigray, which is being managed by an interim government.

04/07/2021

Fighting between two states, Afar and Somali intensifies. Their borders were redrawn in 2014, when some cities were transferred from Afar to Somali, which has fought to regain them since.

04/06/2021

Talks on the GARD break down. Sudan and Egypt are concerned about Ethiopia’s plans. Sudan also disagreed with the final statement.

03/31/2021

Egypt’s al-Sisi warns that Egypt will not give up any of the Nile water, he also seems to be willing to continue negotiations with Ethiopia.

03/24/2021

Abiy Ahmed says all troops, including Eritrean troops, will be withdrawn from Tigray.

03/23/2021

Government admits that atrocities were committed in Tigray fighting.

03/02/2021

Fighting between Sudan and Ethiopian-backed forces continues in the last Ethiopian stronghold of Bereket in the disputed border region of Al-Fashaga.

02/10/2021

Continued fighting between Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front and Eritrean and Ethiopian military.

01/03/2021

Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt resume talks about the dam on the Nile.

12/20/2020

Sudan and Ethiopia agree to negotiations on the border.

12/09/2020

Eritrea said to be aiding Ethiopia in Tigray.

12/08/2020

Military unit in Tigray opens fire on UN staffers. No casualties are reported.

12/02/2020

Government allows delivery of humanitarian aid to Tigray.

11/28/2020

Government says it has taken Mekelle, Tigray capital city.

11/21/2020

Government takes Tigray’s second-largest city.

11/17/2020

Abiy announces “final” offensive in Tigray.

11/15/2020

Fighting in Tigray intensifies.

11/13/2020

Government names new Chief Executive of Tigray region, Mula Nega. The former chief, Debretsion Gebremichael, was removed from immunity on 11/12/20.

11/12/2020

Government says that the western portion of Tigray has been “liberated.” Amnesty International reports that massacres are taking place in Tigray, but does not specify the perpetrators.

11/09/2020

Government forces take airport in Tigray. AU calls for an end to fighting.

11/04/2020

Government invades Tigray

Government imposes state of emergency on Tigray and sends in troops after an attack on a federal military base by soldiers of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

10/06/2020

Senate votes to sever all ties to the Tigray regional government in response to its election plan.

09/18/2020

Opposition leader Jawar Mohammed is charged with terrorism related to the violent protests that followed the killing of Hachalu Hundessa.

09/09/2020

Tigray region voting on regional offices in defiance of the central government’s delay of voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9/5, the House of Federation, the upper chamber of the legislature, declared the vote unconstitutional and therefore void.

08/16/2020

Egypt and Sudan express optimism about negotiations about GERD with Ethiopia.

06/30/2020

At least fifty people are killed in Oromo in protests over the death of singer Hachalu Hundessa, who was shot while driving on 6/30. The singer’s body was being transferred to his home state when Oromo politician Jawar Mohammed intercepted it and a standoff occurred between protestors and security forces. There were also protests in several Oromo cities, some of which turned violent.

06/11/2020

Parliament elects Aden Farah of the Somali state to be speaker.

06/10/2020

Upper house of parliament, the House of Federation, approves an extension of its term for as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to public health. It also extends the term of the lower house, the House of Peoples Representatives for a similar term. Abiy’s term is therefore simlarly extended. The terms would have expired in October.

06/08/2020

Abiy rejects as unconstitutional the idea of an interim government when the current term expires in October. The speaker of the upper house Keria Ibrahim resigns in protest.

05/31/2020

Cross-border attacks by militias in Sudan and Ethiopia causing diplomatic concern.

05/29/2020

Amnesty International accuses Ethiopian security forces of 39 extra-judicial killings of supposed members of the Oromio Liberation Army, and the imprisonment of thousands of others. The OLA has been named a terrorist organization by the government.

05/29/2020

Amnesty International accuses Ethiopian security forces of 39 extra-judicial killings of supposed members of the Oromio Liberation Army, and the imprisonment of thousands of others. The OLA has been named a terrorist organization by the government.

05/05/2020

Legislators take control of the upper house of parliament to decide on an interpretation of the constitution in regard to the election. The tenure of the legislators expires in October, but there will be no election before then.

04/10/2020

Legislature agrees on five-month state of emergency due to COVID-19 pandemic.

04/01/2020

Government and opposition agree to delay August election due to COVID-19. The government’s mandate expires soon, but legislature is likely to extend it.

03/13/2020

Ethiopia confirms its first case of COVID-19.

01/16/2020

National Elections Board of Ethiopia sets 8/16/20 as tentative date for national elections.

01/16/2020

Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agree that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can begin filling during the wet season of 2020. Though Ethiopia wants the dam to be completely filled within seven years, Egypt is worried that it will remove too much water from the Blue Nile. Egypt is already in a water shortage.

01/05/2020

Parliament amends anti-terrorism law to make it less repressive.

01/03/2020

Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Oromo Nationalist Party (ONP) form an opposition coalition.

01/03/2020

The Oromo Democratic Party and the Amhara Democratic Party agree to join the new ruling coalition, the Prosperity Party.

12/17/2019

Egypt Pres al-Sisi warns Ethiopia against threatening military action to protect the building of the new Nile dam, the Grand Ethiopiean Renaissance Dam (GERD). Abiy had said in 10/19 that “no might” will prevent the dam from being built.

12/17/2019

Egypt Pres al-Sisi warns Ethiopia against threatening military action to protect the building of the new Nile dam, the Grand Ethiopiean Renaissance Dam (GERD). Abiy had said in 10/19 that “no might” will prevent the dam from being built.

12/07/2019

Ten opposition parties agree to present a united slate for 2020 elections.

12/03/2019

Former Abiy ally Defence Minister Lemma Mergessa opposes the new ruling party, now called the Prosperity Party, and says that the Oromo Democratic Party, which Mergessa heads, has issues to resolve about it.

11/23/2019

Sidama votes overwhelmingly to become a regional unit in Ethiopia. Both the turnout and the vote was well over 98%.

11/21/2019

Tigray People’s Liberation Front rejects efforts to dissolve the current governing coalition.

11/20/2019

Sidama State votes on a referendum for independence from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR), one of the regional governments of Ethiopia. It would remain part of the country but be responsible for local education, taxes, security, and laws.

11/14/2019

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front does not join the new unified EPRDF, though it remains officially part of the government coalition.

11/11/2019

Continuing movement toward a unification of the ruling coalition into a single national party, now called the Ethiopia Prosperity Party (EPP) and formerly called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a unification that has long been proposed. The coalition is made up of the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement.

11/06/2019

Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan pledge to continue to look for a satisfactory agreement about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a huge hydroelectric power project that will make Ethiopia a major power exporter on the continent. Sudan and Egypt fear it will seriously reduce water supply downstream. Egypt, which takes 90% of its drinking water from the Nile, has experienced water shortages in recent years.

10/26/2019

New clashes in Oromia after Jawar Mohammed says security forces attempted to detain him on 10/23. Abiy spoke out on 10/22 against people whose profile would fit Mohammed’s. Nearly seventy have been killed, including five police, most by mobs attacking ethnic and religious groups.

10/23/2019

Protests erupt against Abiy after opposition activist Jawar Mohammed accuses Abiy of organizing an attack on him. Jawar, a media owner, formerly supported Abiy, but has lately been critical of his policies. Jawar is a controversial figure who has been accused of fomenting ethnic divisions.

10/11/2019

Abiy is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

09/03/2019

Opposition parties threaten to boycott national elections next year if a law that increased the number of signatures necessary to register a national party and required civil servants running for office to take leave without pay.

07/24/2019

Autonomy movement of the Sidama people forces evacuations in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). Refugees have fled to Oromio.

07/24/2019

Autonomy movement of the Sidama people forces evacuations in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). Refugees have fled to Oromio.

06/07/2019

African Union suspends Sudan and calls for a civilian government. Ethiopian PM Abiy arrives in Sudan for talks.

05/10/2019

The Patriotic Ginbot 7 Party dissolves itself. It was formerly designated a terrorist organization, but that was lifted by Abiy and its leaders pardoned. It is now part of the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party, an amalgamation of seven parties. Elections are expected to be held in 2020.

04/24/2019

China cancels interest-free loans to Ethiopia made in 1/19 without further explanation. Ethiopia has received about $12 billion in loans from China since 2000, and there has been increasing concern about China’s economic colonialism in the Third World.

04/23/2019

Eritrea closes all borders with Ethiopia without explanation However, later reports suggest that there was no effective closure on the ground and the move is more about problems with implementing the peace agreement.

03/19/2019

Abiy Ahmed visits Qatar, seeking investment.

03/14/2019

Ethiopia regional states sign peace agreements with the Afar Liberation Movement and the Gambella opposition movement, known by its acronym GPIM. The agreements were mediated by Eritrea, which Ethiopia accused of harboring the rebels during the war.

03/14/2019

All political parties sign a code of conduct agreement for elections, expected to be held in 2020.

02/16/2019

Oromo Liberation Front agrees to give up its weapons and enter rehabilitation camps.

01/22/2019

Thirteen thousand convicted of terrorism or treason in previous administration are released from jail

12/05/2018

As protests continue in Oromia for the third day, the attorney general sends investigators.

11/14/2018

The main party in the ruling coalition, the Oromo Democratic Party, agrees to work with Oromo Liberation Front, led by Dawud Ibsa, for the betterment of the Oromo. The OLF, returned from exile in Eritrea, have agreed to work with the Oromo Federalists Congress to compete in elections in 2020. Today’s agreement also urged a political youth group, the Queerroo, to work with their elders.

11/13/2018

Thirty-six officials at all levels of internal security are arrested in the assassination attempt on Abiy.

10/25/2018

Parliament elects Sahle-Work Zewde president, Africa’s only current female head of state (Empress Zewditu, the mother of Haile Selassie ruled Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930). The position is largely ceremonial.

09/17/2018

Substantial protests after a weekend of violence against Oromo citizens.

09/11/2018

Ethiopia and Eritrea open border with each other.

09/06/2018

Eritrea and Ethiopia agree to restore diplomatic relations.

08/07/2018

Djibouti airlifts its citizens from the Somali state in Ethiopia.

08/07/2018

Somali state president Mohamoud Omar, known as Abdi Illey, has resigned and is held by federal military, who were called to the state by local authorities, along with other state military officials. Somali head of finance Ahmed Abdi Sheikh Mohamed is appointed state president.

08/07/2018

Ethiopia signs agreement with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to end hostilities. The OLF, which was originally part of the transition government after Mengistu Haile Mariam was driven from power but soon left the coalition, agrees to conduct its activities politically. Its leader, Dawud Ibsa lives in exile in Eritrea, and most of the support for the OLF was coming from Eritrea, which has now made peace with Ethiopia.

08/06/2018

Oromo activist Jamar Mohammad returns to Ethiopia from exile.

07/09/2018

Eritrea and Ethiopia sign agreement officially ending the de facto state of war between them.

06/30/2018

Abiy recommends that parliament remove the Oromo Liberation Front and two other rebel groups from the terrorist list.

06/28/2018

Ethiopia’s Abiy and Eritrea’s Afwerki expected to meet soon to discuss a permanent peace.

06/26/2018

Eritrea and Ethiopia begin formal talks on a peace agreement.

06/25/2018

Parliament Speaker Muferihat Kamil is elected head of Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement.

06/23/2018

Blast at rally is said to be targeted at Abiy, though he is unharmed.

06/05/2018

Ethiopia parliament lifts state of emergency.

06/05/2018

Parliament lifts state of emergency, two months early.

06/05/2018

Ethiopia accepts state boundary lines proposed by Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission.

01/17/2018

Ethiopia releases opposition leader, head of the Oromo Federalist Congress, Merera Gudina.

01/10/2018

World Bank forecasts that Ethiopia will remain Africa’s fastest growing economy in 2018, though its growth will slow somewhat.

01/03/2018

Government announces that it will close and infamous prison, Makelawi, and release all political prisoners it holds, the first time it has admitted having political prisoners.

12/21/2017

Ethiopian governing coalition riven by discontent among Amhara and Oromo parties within the coalition. They fault a lack of leadership leading to increasing violence in the country, engendered by anti-government dissension, ethnic violence in Oromia.

11/02/2017

Ethiopian troops enter Somalia to fight al-Shabab.

08/27/1975

Selassie dies without explanation. Initial explanation is that he died as a result of complications from a prostate operation, but that is disputed. It is widely believed that Mengistu had him killed. Much later, he is determined to have been strangled.

03/01/1975

The monarchy is officially abolished and Ethiopia is proclaimed a Marxist-Leninist state.

11/23/1974

The Derg arrests and executes Andom, who had quarreled with more extreme elements over a new offensive in Eritrea and the execution of Selassie’s senior officials. Brigadier General Tafari Benti becomes the new Chairman of the Derg and the head of state, with Major Mengistu Haile Mariam and Major Atnafu Abate as vice-chairmen. The Derg increasingly espouses a Marxist-Leninist ideology.

09/12/1974

Selassie government overthrown

The Derg (“Committee”), the Provisional Military Administrative Council, overthrows the central government. It was originally the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army, by officers of the Ethiopian Army and police led initially by Chairman Aman Andom.

11/02/1930

Selassie becomes emperor

Following the death of the Empress Regnant, Zewditu, Haile Selassie becomes emperor.