Who
Atse Bakafa, a hotel in Gondar city of the Amhara region; Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the leading party in the ruling coalition Ethiopia People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF); Selam, a bus line established by the Tigray Development Association.
What & Why
Business has declined in Gondar and other parts of the north-western Amhara region of Ethiopia. This follows a wave of deadly protests that happened in Gondar on July 15 and July 31 over a boundary dispute. Shops were looted and buildings vandalised during the protests, and there are still fears that the riotous protests may resurge. Now many businesses are closed temporarily or running partially.
Banks and hotels have especially been affected by the riots. Rioters stormed hotels like Atse Bakafa and damaged their properties. But that's not all. The influx of tourists and other visitors to the region has also waned because of the insecurity.
An Atse Bakafa official told local paper Addis Fortune, "The management decided to repair the damage as fast as possible and revamp the business. Yet we are still suffering from a decline in business."
"We used to report up to 11,000Br (US$498) in daily sales. People have not been showing up since the unrest, however."
Outlook
Gondar is restive and clearly there are signs of frustration in regions like Ahmara and Oromo about the Tigrayans' political dominance in the central government even though the Tigrayans are a minority ethnic group (please see: http://bit.ly/2aJ2i0T). Tigrayan party TPLF leads the ruling coalition EPRDF and we can anticipate more targeted attacks on groups/businesses affiliated of the TPLF going forwards. This month for instance, rioters targeted and destroyed buses belonging to a bus line Selam linked with TPLF1.
Footnotes
1 http://www.durame.com/2016/08/tplf-owned-selam-bus-closes-office-in.html
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