Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned on Thursday, in what he described as a bid to downy reforms, following years of violent conflicts that threatened the ruling party's hold on Africa's second most populous nation.

The resignation - exceptional in Ethiopia's history - followed a wave of smack this week in towns near the capital and demonstrations successfully demanding the discharge of more opposition leaders.

More than 6,000 political prisoners have been released since January as the government struggles to pacify simmering fury among the two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amharic, who complain they are under-represented in the country's corridors of supremacy.

Political forecaster, Hallelujah Lulie, said Hailemariam was not an "independent-minded" prime minister and had functioned under the pressure of individuals from Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRD). He added that deep divisions within the ruling coalition had made Hailemariam's political sphere weaken.

 Till now It was not clear who would replace Hailemariam, who also submissive as chairman of the ruling alliance that consist of our parties representing Ethiopia's ethnic groups and has governed the country since it defeated a military system in 1991.