USA ber eritreiske soldatar forlate Tigray

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Den nye regjeringen i USA ber alle soldater fra Eritrea om umiddelbart å forlate den konfliktherjede Tigray-regionen i Etiopia.

En talsperson for USAs utenriksdepartement viser til rapporter om plyndring, seksualisert vold, angrep i flyktningleirer og andre menneskerettsbrudd i Tigray.

– Det finnes også bevis for at eritreiske soldater tvinger eritreiske flyktninger til å returnere fra Tigray til Eritrea, skriver talspersonen i en epost til nyhetsbyrået AP.

Både lokale innbyggere som har rømt fra Tigray, og en kilde i det etiopiske forsvaret, har opplyst at eritreiske styrker har deltatt i krigshandlingene i regionen. Dette er ikke bekreftet av regjeringen i Etiopia.

USAs oppfordring står i kontrast til en amerikansk uttalelse på et tidlig tidspunkt i Tigray-konflikten da Trump-regjeringen roste Eritrea for å være tilbakeholdne.

(©NTB)

US says Eritrean forces should leave Tigray immediately

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States says all soldiers from Eritrea should leave Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region “immediately.”

A State Department spokesperson in an email to The Associated Press late Tuesday cited “credible reports of looting, sexual violence, assaults in refugee camps and other human rights abuses.”

“There is also evidence of Eritrean soldiers forcibly returning Eritrean refugees from Tigray to Eritrea,” the spokesperson said.

The statement reflects new pressure by the Biden administration on the government of Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country with 114 million people and the anchor of the Horn of Africa, and other combatants as the deadly fighting in Tigray nears the three-month mark.

The AP this week cited witnesses who fled the Tigray region as saying Eritrean soldiers were looting, going house-to-house killing young men and even acting as local authorities. The Eritreans have been fighting on the side of Ethiopian forces as they pursue the fugitive leaders of the Tigray region, though Ethiopia’s government has denied their presence.

The U.S. stance has shifted dramatically from the early days of the conflict when the Trump administration praised Eritrea for its “restraint.”

The new U.S. statement calls for an independent and transparent investigation into alleged abuses. “It remains unclear how many Eritrean soldiers are in Tigray, or precisely where,” it says.

It was not immediately clear whether the U.S. has addressed its demand directly to Eritrean officials. And the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not immediately respond to questions.

Witnesses have estimated that the Eritrean soldiers number in the thousands. Eritrean officials have not responded to questions. The information minister for Eritrea, one of the world’s most secretive countries, this week tweeted that “the rabid defamation campaign against Eritrea is on the rise again.“

The U.S. also seeks an immediate stop to the fighting in Tigray and “full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to the region, which remains largely cut off from the outside world, with Ethiopian forces often accompanying aid.

“We are gravely concerned by credible reports that hundreds of thousands of people may starve to death if urgent humanitarian assistance is not mobilized immediately,” the statement says.

The United Nations in its latest humanitarian update said it is receiving reports of “rising hunger” in Tigray and cited a “dire lack of access to food” since many farmers in the largely agricultural region missed the harvest because of the fighting, and as “critical staff” to scale up the humanitarian response can’t access the region. Transport, electricity, banking and other links “have yet to be restored in much of the region,” the U.N. said, and 78% of hospitals remain nonfunctional.

“Our concern is that what we don’t know could be even more disturbing,” U.N. children’s agency chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement Wednesday. “For 12 weeks, the international humanitarian community has had very limited access to conflict-affected populations across most of Tigray.”

Vaccinations have stopped across the region, Fore added.

The U.S. statement added that “dialogue is essential between the government and Tigrayans.” Ethiopia’s government has rejected dialogue with the former Tigray leaders, seeing them as illegitimate, and has appointed an interim administration.

The former Tigray leaders, in turn, objected to Ethiopia delaying a national election last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and considered Abiy’s mandate over.

‘Choose – I kill you or rape you’: abuse accusations surge in Ethiopia’s war

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 Reuters | The young coffee seller said she was split from family and friends by an Ethiopian soldier at the Tekeze river, taken down a path, and given a harrowing choice.

An Ethiopian woman who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carries her child near the Setit river on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in Hamdayet village in eastern Kassala state, Sudan, 22 November 2020. | Reuters

“He said: ‘Choose, either I kill you or rape you’,” the 25-year-old told Reuters at the Hamdayet refugee camp in Sudan where she had fled from conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

The doctor who treated her when she arrived at the camp in December, Tewadrous Tefera Limeuh, confirmed to Reuters that he provided pills to stop pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases, and guided her to a psychotherapist.

“The soldier … forced a gun on her and raped her,” Limeuh, who was volunteering with the Sudanese Red Crescent, said the woman told him. “She asked him if he had a condom and he said ‘why would I need a condom?’”

Five aid workers for international and Ethiopian aid groups said they had received multiple similar reports of abuse in Tigray. The United Nations appealed this week for an end to sexual assaults in the region.

Among a “high number” of allegations, particularly disturbing reports have emerged of people being forced to rape relatives or have sex in exchange for basic supplies, the UN Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, said in a statement on Thursday.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the military did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the reports of rape. On Saturday, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Taye Atske Selassie, told Patten that Ethiopia has a zero tolerance policy on sexual violence, according to state-affiliated braodcaster Fana TV.

Ethiopian authorities have previously denied rights abuses, pointing the finger instead at the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s former ruling party whose forces they accuse of insurrection.

“I call on all parties involved in the hostilities in the Tigray region to commit to a zero-tolerance policy for crimes of sexual violence,” UN special representative Patten said in the statement.

Women and girls in refugee camps within Ethiopia appear to have been particularly targeted, and medical centres are under pressure for emergency contraception and tests for sexually-transmitted infections, the statement said.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of rape. Media have been largely banned from Tigray, aid agencies have struggled for access, and communications were down for weeks.

Abusers in uniform.

The 25-year-old woman who spoke with Reuters said her abuser wore an Ethiopian federal army uniform.

The five aid workers said other women described their alleged assailants as being militia fighters from Ethiopia’s Amhara region or Eritrean soldiers, both allied with Abiy’s troops. Reuters was unable to determine the identity of the woman’s assailant.

Abiy’s spokeswoman, Tigray’s interim governor, the mayor of the regional capital Mekelle, Eritrea’s foreign minister and Ethiopia’s army spokesman did not immediately reply to requests for comment on rape allegations. Reuters could not reach TPLF representatives.

“I don’t have any information about that,” Amhara regional spokesman Gizachew Muluneh told Reuters by phone.

Ethiopia and Eritrea have both denied that Eritrean troops are in Ethiopia, contradicting dozens of eyewitness interviews, diplomats and an Ethiopian general.

‘Why is a woman raped?’

At a meeting of security officials in Mekelle broadcast on Ethiopian state TV earlier this month, one soldier spoke of abuses even after the city had been captured by federal forces.

“I was angry yesterday. Why does a woman get raped in Mekelle city? It wouldn’t be shocking if it happened during the war … But women were raped yesterday and today when the local police and federal police are around,” said the soldier, who was not identified.

Local authorities did not immediately respond to efforts to seek comment on whether any soldiers might be investigated or brought to justice.

Tewadrous, the refugee camp doctor, described two other rape cases he had handled. One woman, who said she had escaped from Rawyan town in Tigray, told of three soldiers she identified as Amhara special forces knocking at her door, the doctor said. When she refused them entry, they broke in and assaulted her.

An aid worker in the town of Wukro told Reuters victims had recounted how a husband was forced to kneel and watch while his wife was raped by soldiers they identified as Eritrean.

A medical worker in Adigrat said he treated six women who had been raped by a group of soldiers and told not to seek help afterwards. They found courage to come forward days later, but there were no medicines to treat them, the medic said.

In Mekelle, one man was beaten up after begging soldiers to stop raping a 19-year-old, according to a medical worker who treated both victims. Mekelle charity Elshadai said it has prepared 50 beds for rape victims.

UNESCO Director-General urges probe into killing of Ethiopia journalist

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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

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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 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.