ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s parliament approved on Tuesday the government’s decision to lift a six-month state of emergency two months earlier than planned, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting reported. The state of emergency was imposed in mid February after the resignation of former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn which gave rise to a power struggle within the ruling coalition, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The government’s declaration of state of emergency followed massive protests by the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups against the government, which is controlled by people in the Tigrayan ethnic group, a smaller ethnic minority. It is the first time since the ruling party came to power 25 years ago that a state of emergency has been put in place in Ethiopia.
Fana Broadcasting reports that the Parliament of Ethiopia approves a bill and lifts the state of emergency, two months earlier than planned.