In Ethiopia, when the federal government launched an offensive against the Tigray region on November 4, accused of separatist tendencies, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the replacement of the commander of his military forces. The same goes for the intelligence services and the federal police.
General Adem Mohammed was thanked. This former head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) was appointed army chief a little less than a year and a half ago, in June 2019. He currently has no new assignment but he will be replaced by his deputy, General Birhanu Jula Gelalcha, who therefore, it will be the new Chief of Staff.
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A degree in particular from the University of Greenwich in the UK, this is a well known name. In the 2000s, Birhanu served as Jula Gelalcha as sector chief in Liberia for the UN peacekeeping operation, Minul, which has since been disbanded. From 2014 to 2016, Birhanu also ordered Jula Gelalcha UN interim security force for Abiyé (La Fisnua), a city disputed by Sudan and South Sudan. For specialists, Birhanu Jula Gelalcha was already the de facto leader of the Ethiopian army before this campaign.
Oromo war cabinets
This is not the only change made by Abiy Ahmed. Temesgen Tiruneh, who has just resigned as president of Amhara Regional State, is taking over command of the intelligence service. He thus replaces Demelash G. Michael, who in turn takes over as head of the federal police.
No official reason has been given for these changes, but they are “unparalleled” during the Abiy Ahmed era, say researchers in Ethiopia. For one of them, the Prime Minister thus constitutes his “war cabinet” by surrounding himself with men of trust, especially Oromos, the same ethnic group as him.
