Ethiopia asks for debt relief as Covid takes toll

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Financial Times | Pandemic adds to pressure on developing economies trying to meet repayments

Ethiopia has asked for debt relief under a G20 programme to help poor countries reeling under the economic impact of coronavirus, making it the second African country to do so in the past week.

Ethiopia has long been seen as one of Africa’s most promising economies but the pressure the pandemic has placed on healthcare systems and economies means many developing nations are struggling to keep up with debt payments.

In a statement on Monday, its finance ministry said that it was “preparing for upcoming discussions with official creditors” as it looks to reduce “debt vulnerabilities and lower the impact of debt distress”.

“We haven’t even inoculated one individual against Covid, so we need to redirect the resources that we have towards that,” a senior official at the ministry of finance told the Financial Times.

Under its state-led development model, Ethiopia’s economy grew at close to 10 per cent a year for much of the past two decades until the arrival of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018. He had promised sweeping liberal reforms, including privatisation of the huge telecoms monopoly, to take the economy towards middle-income status. But ethno-political tensions and a conflict in the northern Tigray region have slowed his plans.

Monday’s statement from Addis Ababa follows a statement by the IMF last Wednesday that Chad had also asked for relief under the G20 programme agreed by the world’s biggest economies. In November, Zambia became the first African country to default on its debt since the start of the pandemic.

The Ethiopian move will be an early test of the G20 debt relief initiative, which requires borrowers to reach agreement on their debt with private creditors as well as official lenders.

Under the initiative, agreed last year by the world’s biggest economies, 73 of the world’s poorest countries can ask for debts to be restructured and, in the most extreme cases, written off. This goes beyond the G20’s debt service suspension initiative (DSSI), which allows the same group of countries to defer debt repayments but does not provide any debt reduction.

The DSSI has been criticised by debt campaigners and others for failing to enlist the participation of private sector creditors. This meant that debt relief secured from official lenders could be used to repay other debts. Several countries benefiting from the DSSI have stressed that they do not want relief from private creditors as this would jeopardise their access to commercial credit markets.

Despite the G20 framework’s requirement to seek a deal with private sector creditors, the finance ministry official sought to play down the impact on private sector lenders. “It would be a fair burden-sharing between all our official bilateral creditors and then, based on that, we will look at whether we need to reach out to private creditors, which is very unlikely,” the official told the FT. The official stressed that the adjustment would be “minor”.

Ethiopia had total public foreign debt of $27.8bn at the end of 2019, according to the World Bank, including $8.5bn owed to official bilateral creditors and $6.8bn to commercial creditors, including $1bn to bondholders. Chad has no outstanding foreign bonds but its total debts of $3.5bn include $1.5bn in commercial debt, about half of which is a loan from Glencore, the commodities trader, and associated banks.

“Ethiopia is trying to explore the options for broader debt relief,” said Kevin Daly, investment director at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “This is their way of saying things are difficult, we need further relief. What we don’t know is how this will work in practice. There is a lack of clarity right now.”

Ethiopia looks to Germany amid EU funding fight

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Devex | With the European Union withholding payments to the Ethiopian government over the conflict in its Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed spoke to one of the bloc’s most influential national leaders Tuesday on improving bilateral ties.

“Good phone call with Chancellor Angela Merkel on national and regional issues,” Abiy tweeted, “including #COVID19 as well as strengthening development and economic cooperation between #Ethiopia and Germany.”

According to a German government readout of the call, the pair discussed “the domestic political situation in Ethiopia, regional security issues and questions relating to bilateral cooperation.”

“The Chancellor emphasized the importance of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Tigray region and the humanitarian care of the people affected in the conflict area,” the readout continued. “Humanitarian aid organizations and the media must be given free access to the Tigray region.”

In December, the European Commission decided to postpone over €88 million in budget support to Ethiopia as a show of opprobrium at the spiraling conflict in the country’s North.

A commission spokesperson told Devex that other kinds of assistance, such as humanitarian aid and development programs through NGOs, are continuing but that payments to the government will only be unblocked once certain conditions are met, in particular “granting full humanitarian access for relief actors to reach people in need in all affected areas, in line with International Humanitarian Law.”

Officials in Brussels were hoping that EU member states would follow suit. But Berlin has taken a different stance.

Devex asked Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, or BMZ, last month whether it agrees with the commission that assistance to the Ethiopian government should be postponed until the situation on the ground improves.

“The Ethiopian government remains committed to its reform process, even since the start of the conflict in Tigray,” a spokesperson responded by email. “To facilitate the structural and sustainable implementation of this process over the medium and long term, Germany is willing to continue supporting Ethiopia. The German government is therefore continuing its ongoing bilateral development cooperation programmes.”

That didn’t elicit much support in Brussels, where officials have been pushing for a “Team Europe” approach to development policy, meaning better coordination between the commission, EU member states, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“Decisions over budget support are for each Member State,” a commission spokesperson emailed Devex, “but the Team Europe approach in the context of the pandemic will have a much stronger impact on the ground in Ethiopia if there is full alignment with Member States.”

The BMZ spokesperson wrote that Germany is acting in line with the EU and other donors, however, as Berlin has its own conditions to be met before further funds are disbursed, including holding parliamentary elections — expected in June — and beginning a “credible political process” aimed at resolving the conflict in Tigray. The final condition is the conclusion of debt rescheduling negotiations between Ethiopia and China.

“Since funds will, in any event, only be disbursed following parliamentary elections, the German government is taking a long-term view,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will coordinate closely with the EU on all further steps.”

At least one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was more skeptical. “This is the issue with EU foreign policy,” the official told Devex. “If you are unified, you can do something. If you’re not, it’s like a shot in your own foot.”

Chancellor Merkel calls for peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Tigray

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Readout from the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government of Germany on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s telephone conversation with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Translation by Addis Standard.

Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung

Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Serial no.: 32
Issue year: 2021

The Spokesman of the German Government, Steffen Seibert, announces:

Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on the phone [yesterday] with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

The Chancellor and her Ethiopian counterpart exchanged views on the domestic political situation in Ethiopia, regional security policy issues and questions of bilateral cooperation. The Chancellor stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Tigray region and of providing humanitarian assistance to the affected people in the conflict area. Humanitarian aid organizations and the media must be granted free access to the Tigray region, she said.

They also discussed the economic and health situation in Ethiopia in light of the Covid19 pandemic.

Here is the Ethiopian Prime Ministe’s takeaway from their conversation,

 

Tigray-partier hevder at flere enn 52.000 sivile er drept i regionen

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Bistandsaktuelt | En trio av opposisjonspartier i den krigsherjede Tigray-regionen i Etiopia hevder at mer enn 52.000 sivile har blitt drept i konflikten som brøt ut i november.

I uttalelsen , som er signert Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray (SAWET) og Great Tigray (Baytona), heter det at verdenssamfunnet må gripe inn før en «humanitær katastrofe av bibelske proporsjoner blir en realitet».

Volden har ført til at mer enn 3 millioner mennesker har blitt fordrevet, og 6,5 millioner har behov for nødhjelp, heter det videre. Uttalelsen sier ingenting om hvor estimatet over antall drepte kommer fra, og det har ikke lyktes nyhetsbyrået AP å komme i kontakt med partiene.

Etiopiske regjeringsstyrker innledet i november en stor offensiv for å ta kontrollen over Tigray-regionen fra Tigray-folkets frigjøringsfront (TPLF). Det har ikke kommet offisielle tall for antall døde siden.

Samtidig har internasjonale hjelpeorganisasjoner bedt om bedre tilgang til regionen, der begrensede kommunikasjonsmuligheter har gjort det vanskelig å kartlegge omfanget av volden.

Fredsprisvinner Abiy Ahmeds regjering gikk i desember med på å gi hjelpearbeidere uhindret adgang til regjeringskontrollerte områder, men en måned senere sier hjelpearbeidere at de fortsatt sliter med å nå et stort antall mennesker.

(©NTB)

Svar på spørsmål fra Anniken Huitfeldt (A) om konflikten i Tigray, Nord-Etiopia — UD

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Stortinget | Regjeringen 

Svar til Stortinget | Dato: 03.02.2021
Mottager: Stortingets kontor, Ekspedisjonskontoret

Utenriksminister Ine Eriksen Søreides svar på et spørsmål fra Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) om hva utenriksministeren vil foreta seg for å bidra til en fredelig løsning av konflikten i Tigray i Nord-Etiopia og sikre tilgang for humanitær nødhjelp til sivilbefolkningen.

Dokument nr. 15:1088 (2020-2021)
Innlevert: 27.01.2021
Sendt: 27.01.2021
Besvart: 03.02.2021 av utenriksminister Ine Eriksen Søreide

Spørsmål

Anniken Huitfeldt (A): Konflikten i Tigray i Nord-Etiopia er dypt alvorlig. Tusener har mistet livet. Tidligere utenriksminister Seyoum Mesfin ble drept 13. januar. To millioner mennesker har flyktet fra sine hjem. Hele regionen rammes: Eritrea er involvert, Sudan har mottatt 60 000 flyktninger. Det blir stadig tydeligere at sult og tilgang på mat, vann og medisiner brukes som et våpen i konflikten.

Hva vil utenriksministeren foreta seg for å bidra til en fredelig løsning av konflikten og sikre tilgang for humanitær nødhjelp til sivilbefolkningen?

Svar

Ine Eriksen Søreide: Jeg deler representantens bekymring over de siste månedenes konflikt i den etiopiske regionen Tigray, med store konsekvenser for sivilbefolkningen. Jeg viser til mine svar på tidligere skriftlige spørsmål, henholdsvis spørsmål 391 fra representanten Tvedt Solberg, spørsmål 522 fra representanten Navarsete og spørsmål 644 fra representanten Moxnes, samt uttalelser og pressemeldinger om saken.

Den humanitære situasjonen som følge av konflikten er krevende. Regjeringen bidrar med nærmere 27 millioner kroner til den humanitære responsen i tillegg til bidrag via FNs nødhjelpsfond. Snart tre måneder inn i konflikten er det fortsatt store problemer med å få hjelpen frem. Humanitære aktører må få trygg og uhindret tilgang til alle som er rammet av konflikten. Partene har etter humanitærretten et ansvar for sikre beskyttelse av sivilbefolkningen. Norge vil, sammen med andre, fortsette å be partene i konflikten om å etterleve sine forpliktelser etter humanitærretten. I den forbindelse vil jeg ha tett kontakt med Finlands utenriksminister Pekka Haavisto i kraft av hans rolle som EUs utsending for konflikten.

En langvarig konflikt vil kunne forverre etniske motsetninger i resten av Etiopia, og den bidrar allerede til å destabilisere situasjonen på Afrikas horn. Det er kun en politisk løsning med eierskap i regionen som kan føre til en varig slutt på den militære konflikten, og det haster å få på plass et spor for en politisk løsning gjennom dialog og forsoningstiltak. I min forrige samtale med Etiopias utenriksminister Demeke Mekonnen oppfordret jeg derfor sterkt etiopiske myndigheter til å engasjere seg konstruktivt med den Afrikanske Union (AU) og den regionale organisasjonen Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for å finne en løsning. Tilstedeværelse av fremmede lands styrker i Etiopia bidrar ikke til en slik løsning.

Det foreligger samsvarende og sterkt bekymringsverdige rapporter, sist fra FNs spesialrepresentant for seksuell vold i konflikt, som beskriver grove menneskerettighetsbrudd og -overgrep i Tigray-regionen. Å sikre respekt for menneskerettigheter og beskyttelse av sivile i konflikt er en hovedprioritet i norsk utenrikspolitikk. I samarbeid med FN og det internasjonale samfunn vil Norge fortløpende vurdere tilnærminger for å dokumentere og verifisere påstander om brudd på internasjonal humanitærrett og menneskerettighetsbrudd og -overgrep, som underlag til senere etterforskning og straffeforfølgning.

Jeg er også bekymret over rapporter om at flyktningleirer har blitt utsatt for angrep. Norge støtter FNs høykommissær for flyktningers arbeid og har løpende kontakt om utviklingen i landet. Vi slutter oss til høykommissærens oppfordring om en forsterket innsats for å bedre forholdene for flyktninger og internt fordrevne i Tigray og nærområdene. Det er tidskritisk å få på plass løsninger for de eritreiske flyktningene som har blitt drevet ut av flyktningleirene Shimelba og Hitsats. Det er også avgjørende at høykommissæren får nødvendig tilgang til berørte områder for å utøve sitt mandat.

Norge, sammen FN og det internasjonale samfunn, fortsetter å drive et aktivt påvirkningsarbeid overfor etiopiske myndigheter med budskap om dialog og forsoning. Norge er klar til å tilby Etiopia støtte til fremtidige freds- og forsoningstiltak hvis vi blir forespurt.

Tigray crisis: Ethiopia region at risk of huge ‘humanitarian disaster’

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BBC | Opposition parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned of a huge “humanitarian disaster” if aid is not delivered urgently.

The parties said people were already dying from hunger and urged the international community to intervene.

Ethiopia’s government says aid is being delivered and nearly 1.5 million people have been reached.

The parties also said 52,000 people had been killed since the conflict started in November.

They did not explain how they arrived at the estimate but said it included women, children and religious leaders.

The government has not given figures. It says it is waging a “law enforcement operation” against Tigray’s former ruling party.

Conflict broke out after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) seized federal military bases in the region following a breakdown in relations with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

About 100,000 Eritrean refugees who had been living in UN-run camps in Tigray have also been caught up in the conflict.

A spokesman for the UN refugee agency said they had received reports that some of them were eating tree barks and drinking water from puddles after being forced to flee their camps.

About two million people have been internally displaced in the conflict in Tigray. The government has heavily restricted access to the region for the media and aid agencies.

On Monday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said he had “rarely seen an aid response so impeded” in the 40 years he had worked in the humanitarian field.

In a joint statement, three opposition parties – the Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray, and National Congress of Great Tigray – said if food and medicine did not arrive quickly the “looming humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion” would become a “gruesome reality in Tigray”.

“Towns and villages have been demolished by blind artillery shelling. Our health and educational facilities have been looted and destroyed and, to the surprise of any sane mind, our religious institutions have also been attacked and their sacred possessions plundered,” the parties added.

The opposition parties also called for the immediate withdrawal of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops from the region, and for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes committed by all forces.

Last week, the US called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops. The state department said “credible reports” had emerged of their involvement in human rights abuses, including sexual violence and looting.

The Eritrean and Ethiopian governments have previously denied that Eritrean troops are in Tigray.

‘Threatening territorial integrity’

The TPLF had been the ruling party in Tigray, with an estimated 250,000 fighters under its command, for almost 30 years.

It was ousted from power on 28 November after Ethiopian government troops captured the regional capital, Mekelle.

Mr Abiy accused the TPLF of threatening the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, and of trying to overthrow his government by seizing military bases earlier that month.

The TPLF said it had captured the bases as a pre-emptive strike as it feared federal intervention in Tigray.

In August, it organised elections in Tigray in defiance of a decision taken at federal level to postpone all polls because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Abiy’s government condemned the election as illegal, while the TPLF said his government was “illegitimate” and did not have a mandate to govern Ethiopia.

Tensions boiled over, leading to the outbreak of conflict.

Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 75 – 03 February 2021

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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 02 February)

● Over 50,000 civilians have been killed in the Tigray war, write three opposition parties of the Tigray region in a joint press release. The three political parties urge the international community to intervene before a “humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion will become a gruesome reality.”

● Reported that 20,000 refugees are missing from two camps for Eritrean refugees in Tigray. The camps, Shemelba and Hitsats, were destroyed, said the United Nations.

● Independent news forum Ethio-Forum (31/1) reports that politician Yilekal Getnet said Ethiopia started the war in Tigray after an agreement had been made in secret between the PM Abiy, Essayas Afwerki and Ginbot 7. Yilkal Getnet, is the leader of the opposition Ethiopian National Movement.

● Yilekal says that the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, the Mai Kadra massacre and the damage to the ENDF are not the cause of the war, but the consequences. He blames the Abiye administration for the political and security crisis and states that the agreement made in secret has played a major role.

● The statement issued by the three Tigrayan political parties states that the international community should ensure the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops in Tigray. The statement was signed by the Tigray Independence Party, the National Congress of Great Tigray and Salsay Weyane Tigray.

● The three political parties also urge an independent investigation into the conflict, dialogue, more humanitarian aid and media access to “cover what is happening in the region.”

● “Towns and villages have been demolished by blind artillery shelling. Our health and educational facilities have been looted and destroyed and, to the surprise of any sane mind, our religious institutions have also been attacked and their sacred possessions plundered,” the three parties added.

● Grandi, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, stated that many refugees “were caught in crossfire, abducted and forced to return to Eritrea under duress by Eritrean forces”, citing testimony presented to him during a visit to refugee camps in Tigray.

● Grandi called on the Ethiopian government to do more to protect civilians in the Tigray region. “ I have a responsibility (..) to help minimise and eliminate the impact on civilians of this situation.”

● Grandi states the situation in Tigray is extremely grave and urgent support is necessary to prevent the situation worsening. “Our main priority is to gain access to deliver aid and protection.”

● AP reports that DX Open Network nonprofit found “further destruction at the Hitsats and Shimelba camps in recent weeks by unnamed armed groups, with humanitarian facilities among those targeted.”

● Ethio-Forum details that the Federal Attorney General of Ethiopia stated that reports of various organizations with regard to the number of people killed at Mai Kadra is inflated: “Most of the reports on the number of people killed in Mai Kadra shows exaggeration” said the Vice Federal Attorney General, Mr. Fekadu Tsega. “An examination made by the government tells that the number of people killed at Mai Kadra is far less than the reports published earlier by many media outlets.”

● Ethio-Forum reports that residents of Mekelle said that ENDF allied forces are confiscating their mobile phones. Especially residents found with pictures of Dr. Debretsion, other TPLF officials and flag of Tigray regional state in their mobile phones are intimidated and beaten whilst their phones are confiscated. According to the sources, Eritrean soldiers dressed in ENDF uniform are the main perpetrators of mobile phone confiscation.

● Ethio-Forum reports that many people in Tigray said the Interim government of Tigray is intimidating and forcing members of TPLF to change their membership to Prosperity Party and if they refuse, they will be killed. This is related to a letter from the head of the Tigray Prosperity Party, Mr. Nebiyu Sehul.

● Reported that mothers in labour are dying at home because of preventable childbirth complications. Even in Mekelle, mothers are dying. An example is two maternal deaths that happened in Mekelle (one in Adishumdihun and Endagebreale Kebelle 19) because of preventable birth complications, post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) and hypertension.

● It is reported that following the invasion of Ethiopian National forces in Mekelle, services collapsed in Ayder Referral Hospital (ARH), the highest level serving hospital of the region. Even women in labor could not be admitted for delivery at the hospital, as the military forces on duty denied women entry for delivery services in the hospital after 6:00PM ( because of the curfew), referring to the declaration of emergency state law.

● Reported that almost all health care professionals (HCP) were left in the health facilities in Tigray, because of the fear for bombing and “massive killing” of civilians’ by the Ethiopian and Eritrean troops.

● In one instance, the duty skilled birth attendants/midwives left a laboring mother alone at the delivering room in Nebelet health center (HC), to save their own lives.

● Health professionals and eye-witnesses report different rape cases in Mekelle and other cities of Tigray. It is reported that many of the girls that come to the clinics are not only sexually assaulted and raped but they are also brutally beaten and bruised all over their bodies.

● Reported that in Humera, a young girl aged 13 was raped by Amhara militia while in her house after being separated from her parents. After being discovered by her family and on her way to the hospital they were all shot and killed before they could reach the hospital.

● A researcher comments that “looking at all the rape cases so far, the assaults are not random; they are a weapon of war.”

Reported situation in Ethiopia (as confirmed per 02 February)

● In a letter addressed to the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), the opposition party National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) demands an apology for hate messages displayed on banners at a rally organized in Oromia regional state in support of PM Abiy.

Reported Regional situation (as confirmed per 02 February)

● Yasser Abbas, Sudan’s Irrigation Minister, has warned Ethiopia against a planned second phase filling of GERD without signing an agreement with the stakeholders.

Reported International situation (as confirmed per 02 February)

● The UN Security Council will discuss the situation in Tigray behind closed doors on 3 Feb.

● In a phone call with PM Abiy, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel “underscored the significance of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Tigray region and of humanitarian supplies to the people affected”. Merkel added that “humanitarian aid organizations and media must be granted free access”.

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

Five Reasons why the UN Security Council needs to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia

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World Peace Foundation | Alex de Waal | 14.12.2020

Today, the UN Security Council members are expected to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Tigray.

It’s a matter for UN Security Council urgent business for several reasons.

First, it’s an internationalized crisis: there are over 45,000 refugees in Sudan and within weeks there could be three times that number. There are over 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, and the Eritrean army has overrun their camps and is reportedly forcing conscripting youth, while the Federal Government is proposing to send over 100 Eritreans who made it as far as Addis Ababa back to Tigray, likely into the hands of the Eritrean army.

Second, there’s little doubt that starvation crimes are being committed in Tigray. There is good reason to suppose that parties to the conflict—the Ethiopian federal forces and militia, the Tigrayan forces and the Eritrean army—are violating the prohibition on using starvation as a weapon. These violations demand an international investigation.

Third, Ethiopia will be asking international donors—including the United States, Europe and Japan, among others—to foot the bill. Just five years ago, Ethiopia was on the point of graduating from the status of famine-prone country, with its large-scale pathbreaking programs for food security. Not only is there a vast manmade food crisis enveloping Tigray, but it’s now deeply uncertain whether Ethiopia can muster the financial and institutional capacity to deal with a large-scale nationwide food security challenge such as that which threatened in 2015. Having invested heavily over the last 25 years in the achievements of Ethiopia’s pro-poor developmental state and famine prevention mechanisms, international aid donors have a legitimate interest in preventing relapse.

Fourth, the African Union has failed Ethiopia thus far. There has been no African Union Peace and Security Council meeting on the topic. South Africa discouraged the UN Security Council for discussing the conflict. The African Union envoys were rebuffed. Yesterday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced an emergency summit of the InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Ethiopia. His initiative needs the highest level of international backing.

Fifth, under UN Security Council resolution 2417 of May 2018, the United Nations Secretary General is required to report swiftly to the Council on any situation of armed conflict that threatens widespread food insecurity. The Ethiopian and Eritrean war in Tigray is precisely such a scenario for enacting this provision.

Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 74 – 02 February 2021

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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 01 February)

● Heavy fighting between Tigray Regional Forces and Ethiopian/Eritrean forces in areas between Semema and Edaga Berhe. It is reported that the Tigray Regional Forces have burned nine armoured vehicles. The information comes from commanders of Tigray Forces stationed in this battlefield.

● Another active fighting at the moment is at Wukro Maray, 15 kms West of Aksum. The other side at this front is dominated by Eritrean Forces. Tigray Regional Forces is selectively fighting the huge new force of combined Ethiopian and Eritrean forces that entered in the second campaign.

● Reported ambush on ENDF allied forces convoy at Wukro Maray town, near Shire, by Tigray regional forces. Meanwhile heavy fighting is reported for the third consecutive day in the Kola Tembien area.

● Reported that a Tigrayan businessman named Yibrah Teame was allegedly murdered in the Bademe area by Eritrean troops (TMH).

● Reported in direct communication with the political and military TPLF leadership that there are regular contacts with Dr. Debretsion, who is leading political mobilization and military operations.

● Sadistic perpetration of sexual violence reported. Report received that a girl from Abyi Adi was shot 4 times on her hands by a soldier who first went into their home asking where ‘woyane’ (a term for people in Tigray) is. Her father, a blind man, responded they didn’t know and he was ordered to rape his own child. He was taken into another room and beaten by another soldier after he strongly refused. The girl was then ordered ‘lawtash’. (This is an offensive term widely used referring to sexual intercourse in the context of violence or rape). When she refused, he fired a shot wounding her left hand small finger and then followed it with three shots on her right arm leaving her now amputated.

● Reported that a girl from Abyi Adi was presented to the emergency room at Ayder Hospital after being raped and then shot on her thighs multiple times by ENDF soldiers.

● Report received on another girl from Abyi Adi who was raped by an ENDF soldier. He asked her to go and buy him cigarettes. As she went, he followed her and told her to have sex with him using the term ‘lawtash’. When she refused, he hit her leaving her behind unconsciously. It is reported that “she was lucky enough to be brought to Ayder and provided with care, unlike many other girls.”

● Photos received with houses completely destroyed by heavy artillery in Mekelle.

● An overview of health facilities paints a dire picture. In general, health facility services including maternity and emergency services were shut down across the Tigray region. The life saving essential services including those who had follow up cases are deprived, for example in Hawzen, Fatsi, H/Selam primary hospitals, Abiy Adi, Adwa and Wukro hospitals and other sites. As a result of this both home and facility deaths are alarmingly increasing.

● Almost all health facilities found in Central, Eastern, North West and Western zones of Tigray are still not functional. Medical equipment and medications were stolen; doors and windows broken.

● Photos received of ambulances destroyed in the war in Tigray. Pictures show that Wukro Maray primary hospital and Selekleka hospital has been heavily looted and destroyed, reportedly by ENDF allied forces and Eritrean troops.

● Original audio recording received of the meeting held at Mekelle University between staff and the interim Tigray government head, Dr. Mulu Nega. He said the Ethiopian government does not have the capacity to get the Eritrean soldiers out of Tigray. In this meeting many questions were raised on the levels of damage that the war has brought to the people of Tigray and its institutions.

● The General Attorney of Ethiopia stated today that the number of people killed in Mai Kadra is exaggerated. The conclusion came after studying the situation on the ground for a month.

● The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) calls for an independent investigation into the Mai Kadra massacre.

Reported Regional situation (as confirmed per 01 February)

● Reported on saturday that Ethiopian militia entered 7 km into Sudan and kidnapped three merchants, subsequently, the Sudanese army sent additional military reinforcements to the area. Sudanese protesters closed the Gallabat land border crossing with Ethiopia after the three merchants were kidnapped, demanding their immediate release. (Asharq Al-Awasat)

Reported International situation (as confirmed per 01 February)

● Tsedale Lemma, Editor in chief of Addis Standard, spoke with the U.S. Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and laid out key priorities for the US Foreign Policy in its engagement with Ethiopia and the ongoing armed conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia’s upcoming elections and instability.

● Tsedale Lemma recommended the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray; immediate and binding cessation of hostilities by all parties involved in the conflict; immediate distribution of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable and a UN mandated, politically insulated independent investigation into the atrocities committed in Tigray.

● The Finnish minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, is going to Ethiopia and countries in the region on an EU fact finding mission. The EU is concerned about the situation and the rising tensions.

● Haavisto states that “Nearly three months after the start of the conflict … the security situation in Tigray remains dire, with reports of localised fighting especially in rural areas.”

● Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), states that “twelve weeks since the start of conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, meaningful humanitarian operations have still not begun. Aid organisations are unable to reach the Central and Western parts of the region, and two refugee camps are completely inaccessible.”

● NRC states that “In the few instances where agencies are accessing the region, it is limited to areas along major roads or the capital Mekelle. Aid workers face an unpredictable approval process with blurred lines of authorizations, as well as unclear and shifting approval procedures.”

● Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the NRC states that “In all my years as an aid worker, I have rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs. As an international community, we are clearly failing to deliver against the humanitarian imperative we are facing.”

● “Ethiopia’s military and government stands accused of purposeful ethnic cleansing, a precursor to all-out genocide,” writes World Peace Foundation Pres Emeritus Robert Rotberg on the war in Tigray.

● Ethiopia issues a press release on its strategy concerning debt repayments and rescheduling. The Financial Times (FT) reports that Ethiopia has asked donor countries for debt relief as Covid takes a toll.

● “There are 2.3 million people in need of lifesaving assistance in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Humanitarian aid is available, but access has been extremely limited”, said Amnesty International

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

Moralsk fraskrivelse: Norge og krigsforbrytelser i Etiopia

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Bistandsaktuelt: I 2019 ga den norske Nobel-komiteen fredsprisen til Etiopias nye statsminister Abiy Ahmed Ali, for å ha startet en fredsprosess med Eritrea etter 20 år med konflikt. Den unge statsministeren lovet samtidig å snu Etiopias autoritære historie og demokratisere landet.

Et år etter at han ble gitt fredsprisen er håpet om demokratiske reformer knust, mens FN-organisasjoner er blant de som ønsker granske om Abiy Ahmed har begått grove krigsforbrytelser under krigen i Tigray.

I over et år anklaget Abiy Ahmed Tigray-folkets frigjøringsfront (TPLF) for å destabilisere landet, mens de anklaget ham for å være autoritær. Krigen i Tigray begynte 4. november mellom Abiy Ahmeds føderale regjering og Tigrays semi-autonome regionalstat i Nord-Etiopia. I tillegg til det føderale militæret, mobiliserte Ahmed også ti-talls militser fra Amhara-regionen og allierte seg med det eritreiske militæret. Til sammen utgjør disse militære styrkene rundt 400.000 soldater, som ble mobilisert mot en liten region med en befolkning på rundt 6 millioner mennesker.

Drevet på flukt

Konflikten har fått 60.000 mennesker til å flykte til Sudan. Mer enn 2 millioner er blitt internt fordrevne, og 2,3 millioner barn er utenfor rekkevidde for humanitær hjelp. Den føderale regjeringen blokkerer gjennom byråkratiske hindringer den humanitære tilgangen til mennesker som er berørt av krigen. FN har rapportert om masse seksuell vold og om massakrer. Kritisk infrastruktur som sykehus og skoler er ødelagt.

Abiy Ahmeds krigsstrategi inkluderer en informasjonsblokade, hvor telefon og internettilgang var stengt av. Abiy Ahmeds verste forbrytelse er nok likevel bruk av sult som militærstrategi. FN hevder at mer en 4.5 millioner mennesker står overfor en sultkatastrofe og at regjeringen nekter dem tilgang til de som trenger mat. Hensikten med dette er trolig at regjeringen vil sulte opposisjonen til overgivelse.

Bruk av sult som militærstrategi har ein lang historie i Etiopia, som for eksempel i 1984-85, da blokkering av humanitær hjelp førte til at mer enn en halv million mennesker døde i Tigray.

Politisk styrke

Forskere som kjenner Afrikas horn hadde advart om at freden mellom Eritreas totalitære president Isaias Afwerki og Abiy Ahmed ikke var noe mer enn en allianse mot deres felles fiende, TPLF. Og at hverken fred eller demokrati nødvendigvis kommer ut av denne prosessen. Nå hevder enkelte forskere at krig mot Tigray kan ha vært hovedhensikten med freden mellom Etiopia og Eritrea i 2018.

Uvitende har Norge bidratt til denne menneskelige tragedien. Fredsprisen ga Abiy Ahmed politisk kapital både internt i Etiopia og internasjonalt. Dette hjalp han skape et bilde av seg selv internasjonalt som en reform-orientert leder og til å unngå kritikk når han konsoliderer makten sin ved å fengsle opposisjonelle og journalister.

Den norske Nobel-komiteen burde ha gjort mer bakgrunnsarbeid før de ga prisen til Abiy Ahmed. Tilsvarende er Norges mangel på engasjement etter at Abyi Ahmeds krigsforbrytelser er blitt oppdaget meget uansvarlig. Siden krigen begynte har den norske regjeringen ikke gjort annet enn å komme med noen få utsagn som oppfordrer partene til å løse konflikten gjennom dialog, samt uttrykke bekymring om seksuelle overgrep i Tigray.

Norsk ansvar

Den norske regjeringen har prøvd å distansere seg fra fredsprisen til Ahmed, men faktum er at komiteens medlemmer velges av Stortinget. Dette gjør deres rolle meget politisk og intimt bundet til den norske stats ansvar i krigen i Tigray.

I en situasjon hvor Norge har spilt en så sentral rolle i å bygge opp det internasjonale omdømmet til en leder som begår krigsforbrytelser har Norge et spesielt moralsk ansvar for å engasjere seg i konflikten og beskytte ofrene. Det er usedvanlig uansvarlig å ignorere ofrene til en krigsforbryter som man har bidratt til å bemyndige og legitimere.