Ethiopia PM Seeks Change, Asks Protesters for Patience
Local Editor
Ethiopia's newly appointed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed paid a visit to a hotbed of anti-government protests Wednesday, asking residents for patience as he works to bring change to the Horn of Africa country.
Abiy is the first prime minister to come from Ethiopia's largest ethnic group the Oromo, who spearheaded more than two years of unprecedented protests against the country's one-party government that left hundreds dead.
In the university town of Ambo - a flashpoint for the protest movement - Abiy was welcomed by dozens of horsemen adorned in traditional Oromo attire and cheering crowds, composed of the same young people who made up the ranks of the protesters.
Speaking just over a week after his inauguration to a surging crowd of thousands that police struggled to restrain, Abiy hailed the protesters, known as Qeerroo, as the "shield of the Oromo people".
A 42-year-old former minister of science and technology, Abiy rose to prominence as part of a group of Oromo politicians within the all-powerful Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front [EPRDF], who reached out to the protesters.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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