UNESCO Director-General urges probe into killing of Ethiopia journalist

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Jurist | UNESCO | Director-General condemns murder of journalist Dawit Kebede in Ethiopia. 

The Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , Audrey Azoulay, has called for an inquiry into the killing of journalist Dawit Kebede, who was found dead in Mekelle, the capital of the Ethiopian region of Tigray, on 19 January.

“I condemn the killing of Dawit Kebede. I call on the authorities to investigate this crime and bring its perpetrators to justice,” said Audrey Azoulay. “Impunity must not be allowed to embolden those who use violence to stop journalists from doing their job.”

Kebede, a journalist working for Tigray regional state television, was found dead in a car along with his friend, Bereket Berhe. Both had been shot in the head.

Kebede was a journalist for a Tigray regional state television outlet. Police allegedly detained Kebede on January 16 and questioned Kebede about his outlet’s coverage of the November conflict between federal troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent non-profit organization, echoed Azoulay’s statement. It too called upon Ethiopian authorities to conduct an investigation to “determine if it [the killing] was motivated by his work, and hold those responsible to account.”

Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 68 – 27 January 2021

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peace building, refugee protection and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of Universities, research organisations, civil society and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and across Africa. Key in-depth publications can be accessed on the website.

Reported war situation (as confirmed per 26 January)

●  Eritrean Brigadier General Abraha Kassa, the Director of National Security for Eritrea, was in Addis Ababa today. Unconfirmed Information is reported of a new policy from Eritrea. All educated and “elite” Tigrayans should be ‘forced to flee’ or ‘squashed’ to remove all leadership from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

●  Demands in Ethiopia are growing that Ethiopia should defend its territorial sovereignty. However, this position is undermined by increasing numbers of Eritrean troops entering Tigray or consolidating their positions.

●  Yesterday a new trend was reported of clashes between the Eritrean and Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), who are allies in the fight against the TPLF. The fighting between Eritrean forces and Ethiopian National Defence Forces has continued today in Kwiha, a suburb of Mekelle town.

●  Reported that 2 helicopters and six planes landed in Mekelle. Security at Mekelle airport is controlled by Eritrean troops. Reports of heavy gunshots around the city.

●  It is reported that the ENDF has sent reinforcements to Mekelle.

●  Telephone and telecom has been completely switched off again all over Tigray this afternoon.

●  A video circulating on social media shows Eritrean troops in Wukro town with vehicles commonly seen in the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). Also donkeys are carrying equipment.

●  Reported that Eritrean troops who have amassed gold and wealth from looting in Tigray, are not planning to return to Eritrea, which is well known for its harsh conditions of indefinite national service and forced labour, extreme poverty, and lack of freedom.

●  While the administration in Addis Abeba is providing strong pressure regarding what should and should not be said in public, the interim administration increasingly admits the catastrophic situation on the ground in public and asks for support, risking disagreement with the capital.

●  Reported that an Eritrean gunship helicopter was shot down by Tigray regional forces at Hamedo, near Rama town at the border with Eritrea.

●  Regina Lynch, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), reports on the massacre in Maryam Zion church in Aksum: ”those who have been able to visit the area are reporting the possible murder of 750 people in an assault on the Orthodox Church of St Mary of Zion in Aksum last November.” She states that “ACN has received confirmation of a series of killings and attacks on innocent people in many parts of Tigray, including in the Aksum area, and she said the population is terrified.”

Reported regional situation (as confirmed per 26 January)

●  Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Dina Mufti, states that: “Ethiopia will only have negotiations with neighboring Sudan after its forces withdraw from Ethiopia’s territory”.

● Egypt Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, states that “Egypt will not allow any attempt to impose the policy of fait accompli and will not allow any party to control the Nile River”, in remarks to the Egyptian Parliament today. This is as reports circulate that Ethiopia is starting to fill the GERD dam.

●  The foreign minister said Egypt attaches great importance to the issue of the GERD in order to maintain its water rights: “Egypt took part in a series of talks out of its belief in the importance of reaching a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the dam.”

Reported International situation (as confirmed per 26 January)

●  Kenya’s former electoral commissioner, Roselyn Akombe, is taking up the key post at UNDP in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as the UN Development Programme as the governance and peace building coordinator.

●  EU Council meets and High Representative, Joseph Borell, reports that the EU Foreign Ministers agreed on the urgent need to prevent further destabilisation in the Horn. Foreign Ministers were briefed on the situation in Tigray, and the Sudanese-Ethiopian border. The Foreign Ministers agreed that there will be more political pressure in order to settle the dispute through diplomatic and peaceful means.

●  The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, will travel as an EU Envoy in order to visit the region in early February, together with Amb. Alexander Rondos, the EU Special Representative.

●  The DG of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, calls for an inquiry into the killing of journalist Dawit Kebede. She condemned the killing and calls on the authorities to investigate this crime and bring its perpetrators to justice. The journalist was killed in Mekelle on 19 January.

●  The EU Parliament joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Development Committee discusses the situation in Ethiopia and Tigray. The Ambassador of Ethiopia to the EU, Hirut Zemene, states that the humanitarian work to reach 2.5 people is on the way. The main problem is insufficient trucks, but, according to the Ambassador the food is in Tigray and the bottleneck is only a distribution problem.

●  It is recalled that in December EEPA reported that all available trucks from Tigray, and trucks from Tigray in Djibouti port, were dispossessed and taken to Addis Ababa.

●  Four retired US ambassadors to Ethiopia wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy, stating their concerns about recent political developments in the country.

●  The letter states “We have watched the conflict in Tigray with grave unease as, according to the United Nations, nearly 60,000 refugees have fled to Sudan, 2.2 million people have been displaced, and 4.5 million people need emergency assistance, many of whom are without adequate food. We are also worried about the reported presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray, which could jeopardize Ethiopia’s territorial integrity”.

●  “We are concerned about the worsening ethnic tensions throughout the country, reflected in the proliferation of hate speech and rising ethnic and religious violence. This growing violence seems to us to be contrary to Ethiopia’s long-standing tradition of tolerance for diverse religions and ethnicities”, the ambassadors added.

Disclaimer:
All information in this situation report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.

Links of interest

Satt fast i krigens Tigray – glad for hjelp fra Norges ambassade

/0 Comments/in /by

Bistandsaktuelt | Etiopia-besøket til Girmay Berhe Assemahegn ble ikke som forventet. Norsk-etiopieren trodde at han bare skulle i morens begravelse. I stedet havnet han midt i krigen – med bombenedslag i nærheten av der han bodde.

Girmay Berhe Assemahegn, til daglig sosialkonsulent i Kirkens Bymisjon, reiste til hovedstaden i Tigray-provinsen, Mekelle, 24. oktober i fjor. Målet var i morens begravelse.

Men allerede før han ankom byen hadde spenningen økt kraftig. Forholdet mellom regionstyret, under ledelse av Tigrayfolkets frigjøringsfront (TPLF), og den føderale regjeringen til statsminister Abyi Ahmed var spent.

Abiy hadde erklært at TPLF-ledelse i Tigray handlet ulovlig og skulle arresteres. TPLF hadde gjennomført valg i provinsen i strid med hva regjeringen og parlamentet i Addis Abeba hadde vedtatt. I tillegg hadde TPLF-soldater angrepet en nasjonal militærbase og beslaglagt store mengder våpen.

Bombet byen i to dager

Girmay forteller at volden plutselig eskalerte i uka etter at han ankom sin mors hjem i Mekele.

– Vi hadde forventet at det ville bli krig, men ikke i så stor skala som det ble. Det første jeg merket av krigen i Mekele var at flyvåpenet angrep. Det gjorde de både 4. og 5. november, forteller Girmay til Bistandsaktuelt.

Vi snakker med ham mens han deltar i en demonstrasjon utenfor Utenriksdepartementet i Oslo sist uke.

Norsketiopieren så likevel ingen militære mål som ble bombet. Derimot ble en kirke 500 meter fra huset deres truffet

– Føderale myndigheter hevdet det ikke var krig, men bare en aksjon mot den regionale ledelsen. Men det vi så og hørte om krigshandlinger var mer omfattende enn det. Mange sivile ble rammet, sier Girmay.

Alle telefon- og internettforbindelser i Tigray og ut fra provinsen hadde på forhånd blitt kuttet av sentralmyndighetene. Strømforsyningen ble også skrudd av. Girmay hadde imidlertid råd til å leie en egen strømgenerator og kunne følge med på satellitt-TV. De første ukene kringkastet fortsatt den regionale tv-stasjonen, og flere andre kanaler i Etiopia og i utlandet.

– Vi hørte at eritreiske styrker hadde angrepet grensebyen Humera med bombekastere. De fleste som flyktet til Sudan var fra byen Humera, sier Girmay.

Han synes det er forstemmende at statsminister Abiy allierte seg med Eritrea, et land som Etiopia tidligere var i krig med og som lenge har hatt et svært udemokratisk styre. De største motsetningene historisk hadde vært mellom Eritrea og Tigray. Tigrayiske soldater spilte en stor rolle i krigen mot Eritrea.

– Diktatorens hevn over Tigray

– Dette ble hevnen til diktatoren i Eritrea, mener han.

Det var først i begynnelsen av desember at regjeringsstyrkene inntok Mekele. TPLF-ledelsen, som bare dager i forveien hadde oppholdt seg i regionhovedstaden, flyktet inn i fjellområdene for å fortsette motstanden derfra.

– Jeg var selv vitne til hvordan etiopiske soldater ransaket hvert hus i nabolaget vårt. De tok gull fra kvinner. De sa at alle Tigray-kvinner har gull, og at det tilhører Etiopia. De slo folk, sier Girmay.

Da Abiy erklærte seier etter å ha sikret seg kontroll over Mekele, ble telefonforbindelsen til byen gjenetablert.

Telefonglede

Fire timer etter at telefonforbindelsen var gjenåpnet, fikk han telefon fra den norske ambassaden i Addis Abeba.

– Jeg ble kjempeglad. Jeg er norsk statsborger og det var flott at noen bryr seg om meg og ringte meg. Familien min og kollegaene mine fra Kirkens Bymisjon hadde tydeligvis ringt ambassaden og fortalt at en kollega var savnet, sier Girmay.

Familien hans i Norge hadde vært svært bekymret. Det er velkjent at det er store motsetninger mellom etiopiere i Norge, i synet på politisk ledelse og landets framtid. Ifølge Girmay skrev noen av hans meningsmotstandere på twitter og facebook at han hadde reist ulovlig gjennom Sudan for å komme seg inn i Tigray for å støtte TPLF. Dersom etiopiske myndigheter hadde fått opplysninger om dette og trodde det var sant kunne det ha skapt store problemer for han.

– Det var løgn. Dessverre blir det verre og verre med spenninger mellom etiopiere her i landet, sier Girmay Berhe Assemahegn.

Utenriksdepartementet opplyser til Bistandsaktuelt at de var kjent med at 11 norske borgere befant seg i Tigray under konflikten. Dette er de norske borgerne som ambassaden mottok henvendelser om eller var i kontakt med.

Krigsvrak og kontrollposter

– Den norske ambassaden sa at de ikke kunne hjelpe meg med transport. Så jeg lette etter noen som kunne ta meg til Addis. Heldigvis klarte jeg å komme meg på den første bussen som forlot byen.

Billetten kostet mye mer enn vanlig. Samtidig tok reisen også lengre tid.

– Vanligvis tar disse moderne bussene en dag fra Mekele til Addis Abeba, men må tok det oss to dager.

Det ble en reise gjennom et krigsherjet landskap. Ødelagte stridsvogner lå i veikanten som bevis på at kampene hadde vært harde.

– Det var kontrollposter hver 20 kilometer, med føderale styrker og væpnede enheter fra amhara-regionen. Jeg telte 52 kontrollposter på veien.

Ble beordret av bussen

Han forteller at passasjerer som bare hadde ID-kort fra Tigray ble beordret av bussen.

– De fikk ikke reise videre med oss, men jeg hadde norsk pass og de lot meg passere, sier han.

– Da jeg kom til Addis Abeba fikk jeg hjelp fra den norske ambassaden til å komme meg ut av landet. Jeg var i landet lovlig og hadde jo reist inn lovlig.

På flyplassen i Addis var det flere kontrollposter der myndighetene var på utkikk etter folk fra Tigray. En kvinne fra ambassaden ledsaget Girmay og sørget for at han kom seg på flyet til Norge.

– En venn, også han med norsk statsborgerskap, kom seg ut to dager før meg. Jeg kom tilbake til Norge 2. januar. Det var en lettelse.

I en email til Bistandsaktuelt forteller UD at “gjennom ambassaden i Addis Abeba forsøkte utenrikstjenesten å gi konsulær bistand til alle norske borgere som man visste befant seg i Tigray. På grunn av bortfall av mobilnettet var det vanskelig å oppnå kontakt med personer som befant seg i regionen. Ambassaden samarbeidet fortløpende med andre land, herunder EU-land, og FN, om hvordan man best kunne tilby konsulær bistand.”

©Bistandsaktuelt

UD: Bekymring over sex-overgrep i Tigray, endringer i bistand kan komme

/0 Comments/in /by

Bistandsaktuelt | Norge uttrykker bekymring for sivilbefolkningen i den krigsrammede Tigray-regionen i Etiopia, der internasjonale aktører lenge er blitt nektet adgang. – Vi oppfordrer innstendig alle parter om å respektere internasjonal humanitærrett ved å sørge for trygg og uhindret humanitær tilgang til alle som er rammet, samt beskyttelse av sivilbefolkningen, sier utenriksminister Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Utenriksministeren sier at Norge tar rapportene fra Etiopia om brudd på internasjonal humanitærrett og menneskerettighetene svært alvorlig.

– Vi har gitt uttrykk for disse bekymringene, inkludert begrensninger i ytringsfrihet og påstander om forfølgelse av personer basert på etnisitet, overfor etiopiske myndigheter og i samtaler med andre aktører, sier hun i en uttalelse sendt per e-post.

I en pressemelding fredag ga Søreide uttrykk for bekymring over flere rapporter om bruk av seksualisert og kjønnsbasert  vold i Tigray-krigen. I uttalelsen sies det ikke noe hvem som har skyld i overgrepene.

– Norge står sammen med FNs spesialrepresentant Pramila Patten og ber alle parter forplikte seg til null-toleranse for seksualisert og kjønnsbasert vold, sier utenriksministeren.

FN: Soldater begår sex-overgrep

FNs spesialrepresentant for seksuell vold i konflikt har rapportert om en rekke voldtekter i regionhovedstaden Mekele. I tillegg er det rapporter om at kvinner har blitt tvunget av «militære elementer» til å ha sex i bytte mot basisvarer. Pratten har også krevd en uavhengig gransking av voldtektsanklagene.

Rapportene FN har mottatt om voldtekter stemmer overens med uttalelser innbyggere i Mekele nylig har gitt til Bistandsaktuelt. Her er det etiopiske regjeringsstyrker som får skylden for overgrepene.

Det er etiopiske regjeringsstyrker som de siste ukene har hatt kontroll over Mekele. Den etiopiske regjeringen har foreløpig ikke besvart anklagene om voldtekter i byen.

Brudd må dokumenteres

Søreide vektlegger samtidig i uttalelsen til Bistandsaktuelt at eventuelle brudd på humanitærretten, menneskerettighetene og flyktningkonvensjonen må dokumenteres og verifiseres for å muliggjøre straffeforfølgelse i fremtiden.

Norge bidro i fjor med 27 mill. kroner til konflikt-responsen, både i Tigray og til flyktningene i Øst-Sudan, og det vurderes ytterligere humanitær støtte øremerket Tigray, opplyser UD.

Den samlede bistanden var på om lag 700 millioner kroner i 2019, hvorav 39 prosent gikk gjennom myndighetene. Miljø- og energi og utdanning var de to største sektorene. I fjor var bistanden på omlag 800 millioner kroner.

Det sies foreløpig ikke noe om mulige kutt i norsk bistand som en mulig sanksjon mot Etiopia. EU bebudet nylig at man kutter budsjettstøtten til Etiopia. Budsjettstøtte er en type friere bistand til landets statsbudsjett, der landet står fritt til å prioritere i tråd med signaler gitt i dialog med giveren. Norge yter imidlertid ikke budsjettstøtte til Etiopia eller andre land i Afrika.

Norge gjennomgår bistandsporteføljen

Utviklingsminister Dag-Inge Ulstein (KrF) sier likevel i en e-post at Norge «nå gjennomgår bistandsporteføjen» og vurderer behov for endring.

– Vi vet at sårbare grupper blir enda mer utsatt i konfliktsituasjoner og er også bekymret for de langsiktige konsekvensene av konflikten i Tigray. Vi gjennomgår nå bistandsporteføljen for å vurdere behovet for endring. Det er viktig for oss å sikre gode prosjekter som når frem der de trengs mest, sier Ulstein i e-posten.

Han påpeker samtidig at norske samarbeidspartnere i Etiopia har gode tiltak for risikovurdering, resultatrapportering og evaluering.

EU har gått hardt ut mot Etiopia

EU-kommisjonens utenriks- og sikkerhetspolitiske leder Josep Borrell skrev nylig et krast innlegg et krast innlegg med kritikk av Etiopias regjering på EU-kommisjonens hjemmesider. Der viser han til at situasjonen for sivilbefolkningen i Tigray er desperat og at konflikten virker destabiliserende både internt i Etiopia og i hele regionen. Samtidig har humanitære hjelpeorganisasjoner svært begrenset tilgang til de fleste deler av regionen.

«Jeg har overbrakt et klart budskap til det etiopiske lederskapet: vi er klare for å hjelpe, men med mindre humanitære aktører får tilgang, kan ikke EU utbetale planlagt budsjettstøtte til den etiopiske regjeringen.» skriver han.

«Situasjonen på bakken utvikler seg langt ut over en rent intern operasjon for å opprette ro og orden. Vi mottar troverdige rapporter om etnisk basert vold, drap, omfattende plyndring, voldtekter, tvangsretur av flyktninger og mulige krigsforbrytelser.»

– Lev opp til nobelprisens idealer

Borrell uttrykker samtidig sterk bekymring for at uroen og krigshandlingene i Etiopia skal virke destabiliserende på hele regionen. Blant annet påpeker han at eritreiske styrker har vært involvert i kampene, mens en etiopisk militær stabiliseringsstyrke har trukket seg ut av Somalia. Samtidig har mange tigrayere flyktet til nabolandet Sudan.

«For bare et år siden, i oktober 2019, ble Etiopias statsminister Abiy Ahmed Ali tildelt Nobels fredspris. Dette var en anerkjennelse for hans tydelige forsøk på å skape fred, særlig i forhold til nabolandet Eritrea, og for å skape fred og forsoning i landet og i øst og nordøstlige afrikanske regioner. I dag trenger verden at Etiopias statsminister og hans regjering lever opp til denne prestisjetunge anerkjennelse – ved å gjøre alt som kreves for å få lutt på konflikten», skriver Borrell.

 

(©Bistandsaktuelt)

Sudanese patrol shelled by Ethiopian forces. Ethiopia asks Sudan to pull troops out for border talks

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Sudanese patrol shelled by Ethiopian forces.

Tension has escalated between Sudan, Ethiopia along their borderline.

A Sudanese patrol came under shelling from Ethiopian forces on Sunday near the border with Ethiopia, according to local media.

Sudan Tribune news portal, citing a military source, said mortar shells were fired by Ethiopian forces at the patrol in the eastern Al-Gadaref province.

No injuries were reported and the Sudanese military has yet to issue an official statement.

The attack came amid rising tensions between Khartoum and Addis Ababa over their borderline.

Last week, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Sudanese forces were deployed within the country’s borders. Hamdok stressed that Khartoum was not seeking war with Addis Ababa.

Sudan accuses Ethiopia of supporting militias that attack Sudanese army forces in the border area, an accusation denied by Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia asks Sudan to pull troops out for border talks

Ethiopia on Tuesday reiterated its call for Sudan to pull back from disputed territories its troops have been in since late last year.

In late December, Sudanese soldiers reportedly moved up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) into Ethiopian-held territories, including the contested fertile agricultural region of Al-Fashaga, which Ethiopia called an act of blackmail by its western neighbor.

Ethiopia then launched a diplomatic effort to get Sudanese forces out of the territories to promote a return to the normal mechanisms of dialogue to resolve the century-long border dispute.

“Ethiopia is committed to a peaceful resolution of the border differences with Sudan,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told a weekly news briefing.

Any possibility of mediation would require Sudan to pull its forces to positions prior to late December, when Ethiopia first signaled a breach of its borders, he added.

“We have had mechanisms, technical and political committees,” he said, adding that the two countries need to get back to those resolution mechanisms through dialogue.

Asked how long Ethiopia would maintain a diplomatic stance while Sudan remains in the contested territories, Dina said: “We will cross that river when we come to it.”

Sudanese military leaders have not shown any sign of heeding Ethiopia’s call, though, and reiterate they reclaimed their own territories.

The Horn of Africa nation decries how Sudan, otherwise considered a friendly neighbor, took the move when Ethiopia’s defense forces were busy dealing with the outlawed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) after it stormed the federal army’s Northern Command last year, killing soldiers and looting military hardware

Departing US Envoy Warns Ethiopia Against Violence

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

VOA News | ADDIS ABABA – Calling Ethiopia “the critical actor in Horn of Africa stability,” outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor voiced confidence in a strengthened bilateral relationship but warned that violence – especially in the northern Tigray region – threatens the country’s progress.

“We remain concerned about ethnic violence around the country and the threat it poses to achieving the country’s potential,” Raynor said of Ethiopia, speaking at a press conference Monday in Addis Ababa, the capital.

It was Raynor’s final news briefing as ambassador, a post he has held since September 2017. He has focused on Africa for many of his 30-plus years as a diplomat.

Rivalries among some of Ethiopia’s 80 ethnic groups have spawned deadly violence, including the Jan. 12 killings of more than 80 civilians in Metekel, a town in the western Benishangul-Gumaz region, the Associated Press reported, citing information from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Raynor said the U.S. government also is “particularly alarmed by the ongoing situation in Tigray,” where Ethiopian federal forces launched a military operation in early November to put down a rebellion by regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.  Ethiopia’s government said that it had regained control of the region by late November, but reports of extrajudicial killings and other sporadic violence have continued to filter out.

Since the conflict’s outbreak, more than 58,000 have fled northern Ethiopia for neighboring Tigray, the International Organization for Migration reported Monday. While thousands are believed to have been killed and many more internally displaced, numbers are difficult to verify because of limited communications with, and access to, Tigray. The United Nations estimates that roughly 4.5 million people in Tigray desperately need food, medicine and other basics, and U.N. agencies have criticized Ethiopian authorities for blocking humanitarian aid.

“After almost three months, we’re still not seeing enough humanitarian assistance reach the most vulnerable areas,” Raynor told journalists. “Much more needs to be done, and urgently, to ensure humanitarian organizations – both Ethiopian and international – have full and secure access to the region to provide lifesaving support to the millions of people who are suffering.”

The U.N’s special representative on sexual violence, Pramila Patten, last week released a statement that she was “greatly concerned by serious allegations of sexual violence” in the region.

Raynor acknowledged that concern, saying the U.S. government continues “to call on all parties to cease any hostilities, ensure the protection of all civilians in Tigray, including refugees and humanitarian workers, and to uphold international human rights and humanitarian law.”

He also brought up the U.S. assessment that soldiers from Eritrea were helping Ethiopian federal forces in Tigray, despite Ethiopian authorities’ denials.

“We continue to be troubled by the activities of Eritrean actors in the Tigray region,” Raynor said, “and we continue to call for an immediate halt to — and independent investigations of — all credible reports of atrocities. sexual violence, human rights violations of all kinds in Tigray and other places.”

Improved bilateral relations

Raynor said that when Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018, replacing Hailemariam Desalegn after 23 years and introducing an array of reforms, “there was a fundamental reset, a realignment of core values fully in sync with U.S. core values, both in terms of economic opportunity and job creation and in terms of political space and respect for rights. So that formed a strong basis for us to expand our engagement.”

During his tenure as ambassador, Raynor said, the U.S. government “brought well over $3 billion” to support Ethiopia’s governance, development and humanitarian priorities. These range from enhancing the country’s food security and health systems to reforming judicial activities and updating economic policies to encourage private investment.

Raynor also observed that Ethiopia’s ability “to focus on our areas of partnership has been strained by some degree due to the rate of ethnic tensions and Ethiopian-on-Ethiopian violence and certainly the current Tigray crisis. But by and large I feel very optimistic about the trajectory we have been on and that my successor will be able to build upon.”

A successor has not yet been named.

“This is a pivotal time for Ethiopia,” Raynor said. “What Ethiopia does in the coming months — particularly in promoting democracy, organizing free and fair credible elections this year, protecting basic human rights including freedom of the press and freedom of expression, resolving conflict and addressing ethnic tension, maintaining regional harmony and promoting economic opportunity — will impact this country’s prospects for generations to come.”

Sudan Responds with Force to Border Attack from Ethiopia

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Asharq Al-Awsat | The Sudanese military responded with artillery fire to an attack from Ethiopia against its forces deployed on a share border region with its neighbor.

Ethiopian forces struck the Jabal Abutiour border region on Sunday. The area is controlled by Sudan. No casualties were reported.

Amid the clashes, a military delegation, headed by chief of staff Mohammed Othman al-Hussein, headed to the border region to assess the latest developments and military operations.

The fighting took place despite statements from Khartoum and Addis Ababa that they wanted to avoid a border war. They instead stressed the need for negotiations to defuse tensions.

Ethiopia has, however, conditioned that the military withdraw from regions that were recaptured. Sudan has rejected any negotiations on the border, saying its forces are controlling their country’s territories.

It also says that the borders are recognized internationally and all that remains is to set the markers that have been removed due to the nature of the area. It urged the need to set the markers within close distances from each other whereby each point can be seen from the next with the naked eye.

Sudanese Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim Yassin told Al Arabiya that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s remarks about “disputed regions” prompted Khartoum to dispatch military units to impose their control over Sudanese regions on the border.

Yassin slammed the PM’s remarks over the alleged border dispute, saying the borders are “clearly demarcated according to international agreements.”

He also refused to link the border developments to the stalled negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

“The common factor in both these issues is Ethiopia’s stalling,” he charged. “We do not acknowledge a dispute in the first place so negotiations are not valid.”

Tensions have been high on the border since December after the Sudanese military redeployed its forces in the al-Fashqa region, expelling Ethiopian militias that were controlling it.

The move was prompted by an attack by the militias against Sudanese forces.

The Three-Country Alliance Against Tigray Might Jeopardize Ethiopia’s Future – Analysis

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Eurasia Review | Martin Plaut

The Tigray war has turned into an all-out conflict, pitting Tigrayan forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation front (TPLF) against Ethiopian federal troops, the Eritrean army, Amhara militia and – as revealed last week – Somali soldiers.

Despite what would seem to be overwhelming odds against them, the Tigrayans appear to be holding their own in large areas of the region.

Both Eritrea and Somalia routinely deny any involvement in the war, but the evidence of their presence is strong.

On December 8, Reuters reported that “a U.S. government source and five regional diplomats” told them the US believes Eritrean soldiers have crossed into Ethiopia. The EU and UK support this assessment.

A senior Ethiopian general confirmed that Eritrean troops were in Tigray. Major General Belay Seyoum, head of the Northern Command, described the presence of foreign forces on Ethiopian soil as “painful”.

The Eritrea-Ethiopia-Somali alliance

The alliance has its origins in the ending of hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Much of the groundwork for this rapprochement was done by the United States, with Donald Yamamoto playing a critical role behind the scenes, although Washington could hardly have envisaged where this would lead.

On July 8-9, 2018 Prime Minister Abiy visited Asmara to seal the peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia. In the same month, the ice between Eritrea and Somalia was broken, with a three-day visit by Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to Asmara. It was the first visit by a Somali president to Eritrea since it gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The two nations have not had diplomatic ties in nearly 15 years.

Abdinur Mohamed, a spokesman for the Somali president, said on Twitter that the country “is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eritrea.” Economic and security concerns are at the top of the agenda, as well as “regional issues of interest to both countries,” Eritrea’s information ministry said.

There were further bilateral visits in August 2018 and April 2019. This culminated in a summit between the leaders of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia on January 27, 2020, held in Asmara.

The communique committed the three leaders to consolidate “peace, stability, and security as well as promoting economic and social development. They also agreed to bolster their joint efforts to foster effective regional cooperation.”

There was no press conference at which the details of the agreement might be explained. The public was left in the dark about what the leaders were planning.

Further meetings took place in the run-up to the outbreak of war in Tigray:

  • Prime Minister Abiy made a rare visit to the Eritrea main training base at Sawa in July 2020.
  • Somali President Farmajo arrived in Asmara on 4 October.
  • President Isaias went to Ethiopia on October 14-15. This trip included seeing the Ethiopian air-force base at Bishofu.

Within three weeks, on November 4, 2020, the Tigray war erupted. Is it credible that the war was not discussed, and a strategy agreed between the three leaders at these meetings?

War aims

The first priority of the alliance is to remove the Tigrayan administration from Tigray. President Isaias has long loathed the TPLF. This goes back to the 1970’s and 80’s when the Eritreans and Tigrayans fell out over ideology, tactics and strategy.

Prime Minister Abiy also wants to rid himself of the vestiges of power of the previous Ethiopian government, which the TPLF controlled. He is attempting to reverse their policy of “ethnic federalism.”

Beyond this, outlines of a plan were revealed when information was leaked about a meeting held by President Isaias just prior to the outbreak of the war.

According to reports citing well-placed sources, President Isaias brought together his closest confidantes on the eve of the Tigray war. He said that Eritrea had to accept that it had a small economy and a lengthy Red Sea coast that it cannot patrol on its own. He suggested forming some sort of “union” with Ethiopia, at least in terms of economic co-operation and maritime security.

If accurate, President Isaias appeared to have echoed Abiy’s grandiose dream of re-establishing the old empire-state of Ethiopia. This includes suggestions that the Ethiopian navy could be reconstructed – a proposal supported by France. This would require the use of Eritrean ports which were once home to the Imperial Ethiopian Navy.

The idea of some form of union may not be as far-fetched as it would appear, despite the fact Isaias previously led Eritrea’s decades-long war to gain independence from Ethiopia.

It should not be forgotten that when President Isaias made his first visit to Addis Ababa in July 2018 he made what many Eritreans regarded as an extraordinary offer: for a joint administration of both countries.

“This is a historic day for all of us,” President Isaias Afwerki said. “Anyone who thinks the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia are separated is considered as naïve from now on.”  In a speech, Abiy said the countries had agreed to develop together and that Isaias had offered to help “lead this great nation.” He added that “we have finally found our sister nation after many years of hiding.”

This vision – of co-suzerainty – or a revised form of federation, appears to be behind the current conflict.

Regional blocs

In September 2020 Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia held their third trilateral meeting. They proposed to form a new regional bloc, which has been referred to as the “Horn of Africa Cooperation”.

The flaw in this proposal was commented on at the time. “Creating an economic and political bloc may seem a solution to bring peace and boost trade. But it risks sparking distrust from other East African countries, and with the other regional body, IGAD,” the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which Eritrea has long distrusted.

The Horn of Africa Cooperation could be linked to the wider ambition of the Saudis to extend their influence in the Horn of Africa. The “Council of the Arab and African States bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden” was launched in January 2020. This new Arab-African alliance has eight members: Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Jordan and Yemen.

Conclusion

These plans depend on succeeding to crush the Tigrayans. At the moment this appears a distant prospect, despite Prime Minister Abiy’s assertion in November that it was little more than a “law enforcement”  operation that would soon be over.

If the war goes badly, and Eritrea, Somalia and the rest of Ethiopia becomes sucked into the conflict, the conflict could threaten the future of Ethiopia itself.  This was the warning from senior African experts at the US Institute of Peace.

“As members of the bipartisan senior study group on peace and security in the Red Sea arena, we are watching with grave concern the situation in Ethiopia. While many of the facts remain unclear, the risks of escalation are certain: Intrastate or interstate conflict would be catastrophic for Ethiopia’s people and for the region and would pose a direct threat to international peace and security.

The acceleration of polarization amid violent conflict would also mark the death knell for the country’s nascent reform effort that began two years ago and the promise of a democratic transition that it heralded.

As we cautioned in the study group’s Final Report and Recommendations released on October 29, the fragmentation of Ethiopia would be the largest state collapse in modern history. Ethiopia is five times the size of pre-war Syria by population, and its breakdown would lead to mass interethnic and interreligious conflict; a dangerous vulnerability to exploitation by extremists; an acceleration of illicit trafficking, including of arms; and a humanitarian and security crisis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East on a scale that would overshadow any existing conflict in the region, including Yemen.

As Ethiopia is currently the leading Troop Contributing Country to the United Nations and the African Union peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, its collapse would also significantly impact the efforts by both to mitigate and resolve others conflicts in the Horn of Africa.”

Finland to lead EU diplomacy on Ethiopia

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

EU Obseerver | Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto will travel to Ethiopia in February as an EU “envoy” to try to broker peace in a civil war, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Monday. His trip comes amid “credible reports” of “extrajudicial executions of civilians” and looting of hospitals, including by forces from neighbouring Eritrea, Human Rights Watch, an NGO, said the same day, while calling for a UN-led inquiry.

Sudan prevents ambassador from travelling back to Ethiopia by land

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

MEMO | Sudan has prevented Ambassador Yibtalal Amero from travelling overland back to Ethiopia due to tension on the border between the two countries.

A security source told Anadolu Agency that the Ethiopian ambassador submitted a request to the security services in Khartoum on Saturday to allow him to travel by land to his country. The fact that an answer is still not forthcoming implies rejection of the application.

The authorities in Khartoum apparently fear that the ambassador’s life might be endangered due to the situation on the border and in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. The ambassador, explained the same source, flew to Addis Ababa, where he arrived safely.

On 4 November, armed clashes erupted between the Ethiopian Federal Army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The federal government in Addis Ababa announced on 28 November that its forces had ended their operation successfully by controlling the entire region and its capital.

Sudanese-Ethiopian relations have been tense along the border, sparked by an armed attack against the Sudanese army in Umm Durman in mid-December. Khartoum said that Ethiopian militias had seized the land of Sudanese farmers in the Fashaqa area, after expelling them by force of arms. Sudan also accused the Ethiopian army of supporting these gangs, which Addis Ababa denies, describing the armed groups are outlaws.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced last Sunday that Sudan has agreed to South Sudan mediating to resolve border disputes between his country and Ethiopia.