Nobel peace laureate Abiy to say militants, global powers threaten Horn of Africa

OSLO (Reuters) – The world’s leading military powers and militant groups are both threatening peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will say on Tuesday at a ceremony to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Abiy won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize in October for his peacemaking efforts, which ended two decades of hostility with Ethiopia’s longtime enemy Eritrea.

“The global military superpowers are expanding their military presence in the area. Terrorist and extremist groups also seek to establish a foothold,” Abiy will say, according to an advance copy of his speech.

“We do not want the Horn to be a battleground for superpowers nor a hideout for the merchants of terror and brokers of despair and misery.”

Since taking power in 2018, Abiy has implemented sweeping political reforms that won him praise but also lifted the lid on long-repressed tensions between Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups.