<p>Ethiopian lawmakers on Saturday voted to scrap the current government in the federal state of Tigray and replace it, just days after Addis Ababa launched a military operation in the northern region.</p>.<p>Fears are mounting over the prospect of civil war after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal troops into the region with which Addis Ababa has been embroiled in a bitter feud.</p>.<p>Abiy on Friday vowed there would be airstrikes on Tigray, defending his decision as a limited operation necessary to restore law and order to the region.</p>.<p>On Saturday the upper house of parliament "passed a decision to abolish the existing illegal Tigray regional assembly and executive, and for a caretaker administration to be formed," the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/ethiopia-from-historic-peace-to-the-brink-of-war-911419.html" target="_blank">Ethiopia: From historic peace to the brink of war</a></strong></p>.<p>The house of federation's decision was based on a legal provision allowing federal intervention in a region deemed to have "violated the constitution and endangered the constitutional system."</p>.<p>"The caretaker administration will be mandated with conducting a constitutionally acceptable election and to implement decisions passed on by the federal government," the EBC said.</p>.<p>The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated politics in Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018 on the back of anti-government protests, even though Tigrayans make up only about six per cent of a population of more than 100 million people.</p>.<p>Under Abiy, the region's leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions, removed from top positions and broadly scapegoated for the country's woes.</p>.<p>The feud became more intense after Tigray held its own elections in September, defying Abiy's government which had decided to postpone national polls due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Ethiopian lawmakers on Saturday voted to scrap the current government in the federal state of Tigray and replace it, just days after Addis Ababa launched a military operation in the northern region.</p>.<p>Fears are mounting over the prospect of civil war after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal troops into the region with which Addis Ababa has been embroiled in a bitter feud.</p>.<p>Abiy on Friday vowed there would be airstrikes on Tigray, defending his decision as a limited operation necessary to restore law and order to the region.</p>.<p>On Saturday the upper house of parliament "passed a decision to abolish the existing illegal Tigray regional assembly and executive, and for a caretaker administration to be formed," the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/ethiopia-from-historic-peace-to-the-brink-of-war-911419.html" target="_blank">Ethiopia: From historic peace to the brink of war</a></strong></p>.<p>The house of federation's decision was based on a legal provision allowing federal intervention in a region deemed to have "violated the constitution and endangered the constitutional system."</p>.<p>"The caretaker administration will be mandated with conducting a constitutionally acceptable election and to implement decisions passed on by the federal government," the EBC said.</p>.<p>The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated politics in Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018 on the back of anti-government protests, even though Tigrayans make up only about six per cent of a population of more than 100 million people.</p>.<p>Under Abiy, the region's leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions, removed from top positions and broadly scapegoated for the country's woes.</p>.<p>The feud became more intense after Tigray held its own elections in September, defying Abiy's government which had decided to postpone national polls due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>