The Ethiopian prime minister’s military fatigues spoke far louder than his calm, televised plea for national unity after a bloody coup attempt that left some of his key allies dead. Abiy Ahmed who, at 42 years old, is Africa’s youngest leader, has broken the continent’s mould of ageing, overbearing strongmen in his high-stakes attempt to transform Ethiopia from de facto one-party autocracy to modern liberal democracy. The gun attack on regional government offices last week in which senior officials were killed served as a reminder of the frailty of his ambitions. It also prompted the former army intelligence officer to adopt the traditional military camouflage persona to address the nation on state television. Abiy Ahmed, who has portrayed himself as a liberal reformer, resorted to fatigues to address the nation after bloodshed last week GETTY IMAGESThe bloodshed in the twitchy northern state of Amhara was led by…

Source: Ethiopian News June 27, 2019 16:09 UTC