Abiy Ahmed’s use of the military to address a critical challenge is likely to fail.
Prevailing political attitudes, security actors, alliances and geopolitics differ starkly from the final days of the hated Ethiopian military regime.
Ethiopian politicians, both opposition and incumbents, have found it difficult to undo the political culture of winning by elimination.
Had the national government and Tigray state government attempted to engage in intergovernmental dialogue, things might have turned out differently.
There needs to be greater clarity on the nature of the crisis for an informed and meaningful intervention.