A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022.
In that war, federal forces faced battle-hardened fighters loyal to Tigray's ruling party, who at one point advanced hundreds of kilometres towards the capital Addis Ababa.
Following the Tigray deal, his government held preliminary talks with rebels in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia's largest, about ending a decades-long insurgency.
But anger was building in Amhara, where the Tigray deal deepened existing suspicions of Abiy's government.
It said the status of lands claimed by both Amhara and Tigray, which Amhara forces captured during the war, should be resolved "in accordance with the constitution".
Persons:
Abiy, Tewodrose Tirfe, Temesgen, Ethiopia's, Fano, Addisu Lashitew, Befekadu Hailu, Aaron Ross, Angus MacSwan
Organizations:
REUTERS, Tiksa, Fano, Amhara Association of America, Brookings Institution, Protesters, Thomson
Locations:
Amhara Region, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Tigray, Amhara, Fano, Africa, Eritrea, Sudan, Addis Ababa, Oromiya