19/01/2021 News and Commentaries

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  1. ‘Swift action’ needed in Tigray to save thousands at risk, UNHCR warns. UN News
  2. Starvation crisis looms as aid groups seek urgent Tigray access. Al Jazeera
  3. Can Ethiopia heal after the TPLF killings? The African Report
  4. ‘No Somali soldier killed in Ethiopia-Tigray conflict’ Anadolu Agency
  5. Anthony Blinken | Actions of the Ethiopian federal government could destabilize the Horn Of Africa. YouTube
  6. Somali mothers protest in Galkayo demanding answers to whereabouts of their missing children.
  7. China at the heart of rising Nile River conflict Asian Times
  8. Podcast: Red Sea rivalries: The Gulf, the Horn, and the new geopolitics of the Red Sea. Brookings | Transcript

 

1. ‘Swift action’ needed in Tigray to save thousands at risk, UNHCR warns. UN News

” … help is urgently needed for the tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees in northern Ethiopia”

 

2. Starvation crisis looms as aid groups seek urgent Tigray access. Al Jazeera

Humanitarians sound alarm for millions of people in need of emergency assistance in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit northern region.

“People are dying of starvation. In Adwa, people are dying while they are sleeping. [It’s] also the same in other zones in the region,” said Berhane Gebretsadik, interim

“Deliberate obstruction of humanitarian access is a classic method of systematic starvation of people,” Mehari told Al Jazeera. “Ethiopian government and Eritrean troops continue to obstruct access to humanitarian aid. The blanket continues and thus first-hand information is almost impossible to get. The restriction of information is in itself a crime of the state to hide other crimes.”

 

3. Can Ethiopia heal after the TPLF killings? The African Report

“It is difficult, the defence force is in a very remote region. We cannot bury everyone, if we could we would. Their families can ask for their bodies.” ENDF’s Brigadier General Tesfaye Ayaylew says.

 

4. Anthony Blinken | Actions of the Ethiopian federal government could destabilize the Horn Of Africa. YouTube

Joe Biden’s candidate for the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, said before the Senate, “We are concerned about the actions of the #Ethiopia|n federal government and what is happening there could destabilize the #HornOfAfrica.”

 

5. ‘No Somali soldier killed in Ethiopia-Tigray conflict’ Anadolu Agency 

  • Mogadishu denies claims that hundreds of Somali soldiers killed while fighting against Tigray rebels

 

6. Somali mothers protest in Galkayo demanding answers to whereabouts of their missing children.  

 

7. China at the heart of rising Nile River conflict. Asian Times

China-financed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is Africa’s largest and most divisive development project.

The Chinese-financed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), despite a recent breakdown in talks on Africa’s largest development project, risks powering up a range of downstream tensions and rivalries.

These run from rising rivalry between Egypt and Ethiopia to a festering border war between Ethiopia and neighboring Sudan. At stake, too, is the future of almost 90% of the water in the Nile River, the world’s longest waterway.

 

8. Red Sea rivalries: The Gulf, the Horn, and the new geopolitics of the Red Sea. Brookings | Transcript

The emergence of the Red Sea as a common political and economic arena offers opportunities for development and integration, but it also poses considerable risks. As Gulf countries seek to expand their influence in the Horn of Africa, they risk exporting Middle Eastern rivalries to a region that has plenty of its own; and they aren’t the only outside powers now paying attention. China recently established its first-ever overseas military base in Djibouti, just six miles from the only U.S. base in Africa. Amid historic changes in the Horn and a rapidly-changing landscape in the Red Sea, states with different cultures, models of government, and styles of diplomacy are shaping a new frontier where the rules of the game are yet to be written.

Kapuściński and the Autocrats

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Source: Book and Film Globe |  Neal Pollack

The late Polish journalist, like no other writer, understood societies in crisis

Everyone’s busy checking Orwell out of the library and pretending to read 1984 right now, because apparently we live in an “Orwellian” reality. But if you really want to understand, or at least try to understand, what’s going on in America, I recommend reading Ryszard Kapuściński instead. Kapuściński was a Polish journalist who had more courage on an average Tuesday than you or I have had in our entire lives. He spent decades reporting from the most dangerous war zones on Earth. He would find what’s going on in the States tragic and comic in equal measure. Kapuściński saw what really happens when societies descend into revolt.

[…] Kapuściński had many specialities as a writer, but his best literary trick was explaining autocrats, how they work, and how societies function under them. In particular, his masterpieces, Shah of Shahs, about the end of the Iranian monarchy and the rise of the caliphate, and The Emperor, about the terrifying reign of Ethopia’s monarch Halie Selassie, can help shed some understanding on what’s going on today.

[…]

The Emperor

Ethiopia doesn’t exist in the American consciousness at all, except for guilt-making commercial pleas for aid during period famines, and as the source of culinary delicacies like injera bread and zilzil tibs for urban sophisticates. In the middle of the 20th century, though, it was a larger player on the world stage, first because Mussolini’s Italy invaded it, in a precursor to World War II. Then it’s “Emperor”, Halie Selassie, became a favored pet among the Western elite, even receiving Time’s “Man of the Year” award for resisting Mussolini even though he was hiding in the English town of Bath at the time.

In reality, as Kapuściński writes in his brilliant book The Emperor, Selassie was merely a savvy bureaucrat who wheedled his way to the throne, whispering society to bend to his whims and stealing countless billions to deposit into Swiss bank accounts. Whereas Shah of Shahs is a more on-the-ground “you are there” style of book, The Emperor comes in after Selassie death in 1975, when it’s relatively safe to talk about him and his misdeeds. Kapuściński, who covered Ethiopia during Selassie’s reign as well, seeks out the surviving members of Selassie’s court, as well as some of his former servants, to provide an account of life in the insanely privileged court of a country suffering from inconceivable poverty and starvation.

The pattern is somewhat similar to Iran’s: an elaborate system of favors and rewards, hoodwinking naive Westerners into donating capital and cash, and absolute incompetence at every level of society. Monstrous violence follows. Eventually, and pathetically, Selassie falls in a military coup. The palace empties. The Emperor has no clothes.

Aftermath

Kapuściński is equally harsh on these societies after the autocrats fall. What replaces the strongman is often just as murderous as before, if not more so. The mullah-ruled Iran is a mess of repression, spying, superstition, renunciations, and meaningless, bloody street demonstrations. In post-Selassie Ethiopia, he writes of the bizarre phenomenon of “fetasha“, which authorizes every citizen to search every other citizen at all times, without explanation:

“To get things under control, to disarm the opposition, the authorities order a complete fetasha [Amharic for search], covering everyone. We are searched incessantly. On the street, in the car, in front of the house, in the house, in the street, in front of the post office, in front of an office building, going into the editor’s office, the movie theatre, the church, in front of the bank, in front of the restaurant, in the market place, in the park. Anyone can search us because we don’t know who has the right and who hasn’t, and asking only makes thing worse. It’s better to give in. Somebody’s always searching us. Guys in rags with sticks, who don’t say anything, but only stop us and hold out their arms, which is the signal for us to do the same: get ready to be searched. They take everything out of our briefcases and pockets, look at it, act surprised, screw up their faces, nod their heads, whisper advice to each other. They frisk us: back, stomach, legs, shoes. And then what? Nothing, we can go on, until the next spreading of arms, until the next fetasha. The next one might be only a few steps on, and the whole thing starts all over again. The searchers never give you an acquittal, a general clearance, absolution. Every few minutes, every few steps, we have to clear ourselves again.”

[…]

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የኢትዮጵያ ፍጻሜ: ጉዞ ወደ ዩጎዝላቪያ?

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ኦህዴድ-ብልጽግና፣ መሬት አስመላሹ ብአዴንና ህግደፍ-ሻዕቢያ፣ ህወሓትን ለየብቻ መግጠም ስለማይችሉ፣ ተቧድነው ገጠሙት። ሁሉም የጋራ ጠላት እንጂ የሚያስተሳስራቸው የጋራ ሌላ አጀንዳ የላቸውም። ያሸነፉ በመሰላቸው ማግስት፣ እርስ በእርስ መባላት እንደሚጀምሩ ሳይታለም የተፈታ ነበር። ብዙ ዝርዝር ጽፌያለሁ ስለዚህ ጉዳይ፣ ወደዛ አልመልሳችሁም። ፈትቶ የለቀቀው የአማራ ምልሻ / ልዩ ሀይል የአብይ አሕመድ ዋነኛ ራስ ምታቱ ነው። ይህ ሀይል ለ30 ዓመታት ሲፎክርና ሲሸልል ኖረ እንጂ ተኩሶ አያውቅም። አሁን ተደራጅቶ በቆመህ ጠብቀኝ የመተኮስ እድሉን አገኝቷል። ወልቃይትና ራያን እንዲይዝ ተፈቀደሎታል። ይህ የልብ ልብ ይሰጠውና ፊቱን ወደ ሌላ መሬት የማስመለስ ዘመቻ ያዞራል አልነ። እንሆ፣ በቤንሻንጉል ጉምዝ ልዩ ሀይልና ምልሻውን አሰማርቶ፣ ሲቪሎቹን ለፖለቲካ ትርፍ እየማገደ፣ በሰው ክልል ጦርነት ከፈተ። ኦህዴድና ኦነግም ከጉምዝ ጎን ቆመው እየከተከቱት ይገኛሉ። በጅምላ ተጨፍጭፈው፣ በጭነት መኪና ሬሳቸው እየተነዳ፣ በጅምላ እየተቀበሩ ነው። ሰው ያልዘራውን አያጭድም።

አብይ አሕመድ ያለ የሌለ ጉልበቱን ትግራይ ላይ ጨርሷል። በሌላ ክልል ጸጥታ ሊያስከብር ቀርቶ፣ በትግራይ የጀመረውን መቋጨት አይችልም። ሻዕቢያም ከቁጥጥሩ ውጭ ሆኖ፣ መከላከያ ፈለገ አልፈለገ፤ የትግራይ ጊዜያዊ አስተዳደረ ፈቀደ አልፈቀደ፣ ግድ ሳይሰጠው፣ ያሻውን እያደረገ ነው። ይህ ብልጽግናን ከፈሎታል። መከላከያን ከፈሎታል። በመከላከያና በብልጽግና ቅራኔ ፈጠሯል። አሁን ትግራይ መቀበሪያቸው ብቻ ሳትሆን፣ እርስ በእርስ የሚጫረሱባት የጦርነት አውድም እየሆነች ነው።

የአገር ውስጥ ራስ ምታቱ በቤንሻንጉል ጉምዝና በትግራይ ብቻ አይደለም እየታየ ያለው። በኦሮሚያ ኦነግ ግማሹን ቦታ ተቆጣጥሮታል። የኦህዴድ ተከታዮች ሳይቀሩ፣ ወደ ኦነግ ማዘንበል መርጠዋል። ጃል መሮን የሚከተል ሰራዊት፣ በ10ሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሆነዋል። በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ የኦሮሚያ ክልል ያሰለጠናቸው ምልሻዎች፣ ጃል መሮን እየተቀላቀሉ ነው። ድፍን ኦሮሞ “እስከዛሬ ለኢዮጵያ የሞትነው ይበቃል፣ ለአገሪቱ እየሞትን በአገሪቱ እየተከዳንና እየተገደልን መኖር የለብንም፣ ከእንግዲህ ትግላችን ለነጻነታችን መሆን አለበት” ብሏል። አብይ አሕመድ ለስልጣኑ ሲል፣ ኦሮሞን ክዶ፣ ከሁሉም ተነጥሎ ብቻዉን ቀርቶ፣ የነፍጠኛ ስርዓት ለመመለስና ለማንገስ እያሸረገደ ነው ብሎ የሚከሰው ድፍን ኦሮሞ ነው። ብንፈልግ እንኳን ኢዮጵያ ከእንግዲህ የመትረፍ እድል የላትም በማለት ኦሮሞ የራሱን ህልውና ወደሚያስከብርበት፣ ጥቅሙን ወደሚያስጠብቅበት ትግል አቅንቷል።

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ቅርቃር ውስጥ እንደገባ የተረዳው አብይ አሕመድ፣ የአማራ ልዩ ሀይልና ምልሻን በማስቀጥቀጥ፣ ነፍጠኛን ለመስበር በማሴር፣ ሱዳን ጦሯን ድንበር ላይ እንድታሰፍር ከሱዳን ጋር መስማማቱን በየሚዳው እየተነገረ ነው። ይህን ሊያደርግ እንደሚችል ከዴይ ዋን ጀምሮ ገምተን ነበር። የልብ ልብ የሰጠው ነፍጠኛ ከሱዳን ጋርም ይተናኮሳል፣ ቢተናኮስም በአብይ ትዕዛዝ ከመከላከያ ድጋፍ አያገኝም የሚል መላምት አስቀምጠን ነበር። እንደተገመተው ብቻ ሳይሆን ከገመትነው ባላይ ነው እየሆነ ያለው። ራሱ አብይ፣ ጦርነቱን የጀመሩትን የአማራ ምልሻና ልዩ ሀይል በይፋ በማህበራዊ ሚድያ ገጾቹ ኮንኗል። የኛን ሰላም የማይሹና የሁለቱ አገራት ወዳጅነት የማይረዱ ናቸው፣ ሲል በሱዳን ወታደር ክፉኛ መቀጥቀጣቸው ሳያንስ ድርጊታቸውን ኮንኗል። ከዛ ብኋላ ነው መከላከያ ለሁለት የተከፈለው። ከአብይ ትዕዛዝ ውጭና ከብርሃኑ ጁላ እውቀት ውጪ፣ በነፍጠኛው የሚመራ የመከላከያ ብራንች ከሱዳን ጋር መጠነኛ ጦርነት ከፍቶ ቆይቷል። አሁንም እንደተፋጠጠ ነው። ምልሻው ብቻዉን ስላልቻለ፣ ጦርነቱን በሁለት ሉአላዊ አገራት መካከል ለማድረግና ከሌላው ህዝብ የድረሱልኝ ጥሪ ለማሰማት ነው ትንኮሳው። በዚህ የብልጽግና መሪዎች አልተስማሙም። ለበርካታ ቀናት አብይ አሕመድ የገባበት አይታወቅም። አንዴ ተመርዟል፣ ሌላ ጊዜ ታሟል፣ ሌላ ጊዜ ታፍኗል የሚል ወሬ እንደሰማን አለን። ምንም ይሁን ምን፣ አገሪቱን አክቲቭሊ እየመራ እንዳልሆነና ለበርካታ ቀናት ከህዝብ እየታ ርቆ እንዳለ ግልጽ ነው።

ይህ ሁሉ ሔዶ ሔዶ የሚጠናቀቀው በአንድ አስቀያሚ እልቂት ነው። በተለይ በኦሮሚያና በአማራ ክልል የሰለጠኑ ልዩ ሀይሎች፣ እርስ በእርስ የሚጫረሱበት ግዜ እየመጣ ነው። ፊንፊኔ/አዲስ አበባ እየተሰማ ያለው ተኩስና ፍንዳታ፣ እየታየ ያለው የእሳት ቃጠሎ፣ የፍጻሜው መነሻ ምልክቶች ናቸው። ኢዮጵያ ከሞተችና ከተበተነች ሰነባብታለች። ክፋቱ በሰላም መለያየት ሲቻል፣ በደም አፋሳሽ መንገድ እንዲሆን፣ መንጋው መምረጡ ነው ጉዞዋን ወደ ዩጎዝላቪያ እየቃኘ ያለው።

የህወሓት መሪዎችን በማሰርና በመግደል የተወሳሰበና ለክፍለዘመናት የኖረ ችግራቸውን የሚፈቱ መስሏቸው የነበሩ ሰዎች ዛሬ፣ ትግራይ ላይ ቃታቸውን የሳቡባትን ቀን መርገም ጀምረዋል። ገና ነው፣ ጸጸቱ የምትችሉት አይሆንም።

ቃልሲ መሰል ዓርሰ-ውሳነ አብ ኢትዮጵያ

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እቲ ኣብ ትግራይ ናብ ኲናት ዘምርሐ ፖለቲካዊ ውጥረት፣ መሰል ዓርሰ-ውሳነ ብጭቡጥ ንምርግጋጽ ካብ ዘኽእል አረዳድአን ሞገተን ሕገ መንግስቲ እታ ሃገር ዝብገስ እዩ፣ ክብል ክኢላን ተንታኒን ፖለቲካ ቀርኒ አፍሪካ ኣሌክስ ዴ ቫል ገሊጹ።

አብቲ ጽሑፍ ብአሌክስ ዝቀረቡ ሓሳባት፣ ንትግርኛ ተዓደምቲ፣ ከምዝስዕብ ጸሙቅና ጠሚርናዮም አለና።

ኢትዮጵያውያን ንዓርሰ-ውሳነኦም ብኹሉ ገጽ ይቃለሱ ኣለዉ።

ኣብዘን ዝሓለፋ ውሑዳት ኣዋርሕ ውሽጢ፣ ኣብ ትግራይ ቃልሲ መሰል ዓርሰ-ውሳነ ናብ ዂናት ከምዘምረሐ፤ ኣብ ኦሮሞያ፣ ቤኒሻንጉል-ጉሙዝን ካልኦት ክልላትን ድማ ቃልሲ መሰል ዓርሰ-ምሕደራ ብዝተፈላለዬ መልክዕ እናተጋህደ ከምዝመጸ ይሕብር።

እዚ ጎንጺ እዚ ብኸመይ ክፍታሕ ከምዝኽእል ንምርዳእ ኣጸጋሚ እኳ እንተኾነ፣ መበገሲኡ እንታይ ከምዝኾነ ግና ክንዓሞ ንኽእል ኢና።

አብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝርአዩ ጎንጽታት ብሓፈሻ፣ ልክዕ ኣብ ካልኦት ሀገራት ከምዘጋጥሙ ቅልውላዋት፣ ኣብ ዙሪያ ‘ናይ መንነት ፖለቲካ’፣ ‘ሕገ መንግስታዊ ስርዓት’ን ‘ሞዴላት ምሕደራ’ን ዘጠንጥን እዩ። ይኹን እምበር እቲ ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ጕዳይ ፍልይ ዘበሎ፣ ቃልሲ መሰል ዓርሰ-ውሳነን ዓርሰ-ምሕደራን እውን ዘካተተ ምዃኑ እዩ። እዚ መሰል እዚ ድማ መሰረታዊን ዘየላጢን መሰል እዩ። ብተወሳኺ ድማ አብ መንጎ ፖለቲከኛታት ዘሎ አፈላላይ ብፍጹም ተጻባኢነት ዝግለጽ ጥራሕ ዘይኮነስ፣ ተሳኒኻ ይኹን ተጻዊርካ ብሓባር ፍታሕ ናይ ምምጻእ ዓቅምን ባህልን ስለዘየለ እዩ።

ካብ 1960ታት ኣትሒዙ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዘሎ ፖለቲካዊ ምስሕሓብ መብዛሕትኡ ግዜ ብተመሳሳሊ ኣገባብ፣ ብሓይሊ ብረት እዩ ክፍታሕ ጸኒሑ። ሕድሕድ ወገን ነቲ ናቱ ኣረኣእያ ጥራሕ ቅኑዕ ኢሉ ይወስድ፣ ነቶም ዝብድሆም ድማ ዘይሕጋውያን እዮም ኢሉ ይፍርጅ። አብ ርእሲኡ ቀንዲ ዕዮ መንግስቲ ህውከትን ሀወኽቲን ምውጋድ ምዃኑ እዮ ዝአምን። ተጸዋራይነት ዝብሀል ነገር የለን።

ንአብነት ሎሚ አብይ ካብ ዘቅረቦ መደመር ዝብል ሓሳብ ወጻእ ዘሎ አታሓሳስባ ንጥቅዓት ዘቃልዕ እዩ። መደመር ብዓይኒ ጭፍራታት አብይ፣ ዝተፈለየ ሓሳብ ንዘለዎም ሰባት መጸጸይን መቅጽዒን ኮይኑ ዘገልግል መሳርሒ እዩ።

In the hands of some of Abiy’s disciples Medemer has become a tool of excommunicating dissenters from the political community.

አብ ኸምዚ ዓይነት ኩነታት ፖለቲካ ዓርሰ-ምሕደራ አዝዩ ተባራዒ እዩ ክኸውን። አብ ትግራይ ዂናት ንኽውላዕ ከም ክርቢትን ነዳዲን ኮይኑ አገልጊሉ እዩ። አብ ካልኦት ከባቢታት እውን ብተመሳሳሊ ጎንጽታት የራብሕ አሎ።

መሰል ዓርሰውሳነ ብሕጊ ጥራሕ ክውሰን ዝኽእል ከም ዘይኮነ ምርዳእ አድላይ እዩ። ቅቡልነት ዓርሰ ምሕደራ ብፖለቲካዊ መስርሓት እዩ ዝርከብ። ፖለቲካዊ መስርሓት ክንብል ከለና ብምይይጥን ብክርክርን ማለትና እዩ። ኣብ ዝተሓላለኸ ሕብረተሰብ፣ ከምዚ ንዝኣመሰለ ሱር-በተኽ (radical) አፈላላይን ዘይምስምዕማዕን ክፍታሕ ዝኽእል ብምዝርራብ ጥራሕ እዩ። እቲ ካልአይ መማረጺ ድማ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሎሚ አጸቢቆም ከምዝፈልጥዎ ጦርነት እዩ።

ሓደ ናይቲ ዂናት ሳዕቤን ተጋሩ ብዛዕባ ኢትዮጵያዊ መንነት ዘለዎም ናይ ሓባር ርድኢት ምጉሕጓሕ እዩ።

ኩሎም ካብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝመጹ ጸብጻባት ከምዘመላኽትዎ፣ መንግስቲ ንተጋሩ ዘርእዬ ዘሎ ንጽገት፣ ተመጣጣኒን ዓጸፋዊን ምላሽ ብተጋሩ ይወሀቦ ከምዘሎ እዩ፤ ሎሚ ትግራዋይ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝድለ ሰብ ኾይኑ ኣይስምዖን። እቲ ‘ኢትዮጵያዊ’ ዝብል ኣተሓሳስባ፡ ብመንነትን ኣጀንዳታትን አምሓራ ጥራሕ ዝልለይ፣ ኣብ ከቢድ ሓደጋ ዝወድቅ ዘሎ አተሓሳስባ ይኸውን አሎ። ተጋሩ ንዓርሶም ካብ ኢትዮጵያዊነት እንተደአ ነጺሎም፡ ካልኦት እውን ክስዕቡ ይኽእሉ እዮም።

All reports from Ethiopia show that the government’s rejection of Tigrayans is being reciprocated: Tigrayans no longer feel they are wanted in Ethiopia. The notion ‘Ethiopian’ is in grave danger of reverting to being identified solely with an Amhara identity and agenda. If the Tigrayans remove themselves from the Ethiopian conversation, others may follow.

ኢትዮጵያውያን ብሓባር ሀገሮም ጠርኒፎም ኽሕዝዋ እንተደአ ዝደልዩ ኾይኖም፣ ዓብዪ ናይ ምክብባር ክእለት፡ ትብዓትን ኣመራርሓ ጥበብን ከድልዮም እዩ። ክሳብ ሽዑ ግና እቲ ሎሚ ዝግበር ዘሎ ውግእ፣ መሰል ዓርሰ ምሕደራ ብኹለመዳያዊ ቃልሲ ክረጋገጽ አለዎ ዝብል ርትዓዊ ኣተሓሳስባ የንጸባርቅ እዩ ዘሎ። እቲ ምይይጥ ምስተቛረጸ ዝጀመረ ምስሕሓብ፡ ፍጻመ ሀለዋት እታ ሀገር ናብ ዘብቅዐሉ ሓያል ቅልውላው የምርሕ አሎ።

 

ሰ.ነ

11/01/2021 News And Commentaries

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The Middle East Cold War Behind the Ethiopian Crisis. Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) 

On the ground, the fight between the Federal Army and TPLF troops has been determined by drones. The drones take off from the base of Assab that is operated by the UAE, formerly used as a base for its military operations in Yemen.

 

Ethiopian general admits the usage of ARMED drones in Tigray war, but Ethiopia doesn’t have one.

 

The Belgian based EEPA confirmed members of TPLF were killed by drone attack. EEPA Situation Report 51, 10 Jan, 2021

TPLF spokesman, Sekoture Getachew, and the former director of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority and journalist, Abebe Asgedom, were killed by a drone attack one month ago. They were attacked by a drone while traveling together in a car.

 

Talking and fighting about self-determination in Ethiopia. Alex de Waal | LSE

The political dispute that led to war in Tigray, Ethiopia, was sparked by contending interpretations of the right to self-determination in the country’s constitution.

… Ethiopians are fighting over self-determination. In the last few months, constitutional disputes over respective powers of the federal government and regional states have become full-scale civil war in Tigray and escalating conflicts in Oromiya, Beni Shangul-Gumuz and other regions over the right of self-determination.

… All reports from Ethiopia show that the government’s rejection of Tigrayans is being reciprocated: Tigrayans no longer feel they are wanted in Ethiopia. The notion ‘Ethiopian’ is in grave danger of reverting to being identified solely with an Amhara identity and agenda. If the Tigrayans remove themselves from the Ethiopian conversation, others may follow.

 

Food Security Analysis Ethiopia Monthly Market Watch, December 2020. WFP Monthly Market Watch

  • General inflation remained high in November 2020 at 19 percent.
  • The Birr devaluated by 27.1 percent against the US dollar and depreciated at 18.4 percent in the parallel market since November 2019.
  • The prices of food commodities escalated compared to pre-crisis levels in Tigray Region, despite cash shortages due to disrupted bank services and supply chain interruptions.
  • The security situation in Tigray region has contributed to food shortages, which disrupt both upstream input markets and downstream output markets, thus deterring food production, commercialization and stock management.

 

Negotiations over Ethiopia dam project break down. CNN

Negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, in a long-running dispute over the GERD on the Blue Nile, have reached a new impasse….

“We cannot continue this vicious cycle of circular talks indefinitely,” Sudanese irrigation minister Yasir Abbas said in a statement.

 

Ethiopia begins constructing new dam in northern Amhara region. Egypt Independent

Ethiopia broke ground on Saturday and began building a new dam worth US$125 million in North Shewa, Amhara Region. Construction is expected to be completed within three years. The dam will be … capable of storing 55 million cubic meters of water. … Upon completion, 7,000 hectares of land will be able to be developed, benefitting more than 28,000 families in the region.

 

Khartoum will resort to alternative methods to address Ethiopia Nile Dam, Sudan Foreign Minister

ውዕሎ ሱዳን፣ ግብጺን ኢትዮጵያን ውጽኢት አልቦ ኮይኑ ተዛዚሙ

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ውዕሎ ሱዳን፣ ግብጺን ኢትዮጵያን ውጽኢት አልቦ ኮይኑ ተዛዚሙ አሎ።

ካብዝተፈላለያ ሚድያታት ብኢንግሊዝኛ ዝተጠመረት ነዛ ዜና አንብቢኩም ስርሒት ሱዳን ታይ ከምዝኾነ አስተውዕሉላ።

ኢትዮጵያ ብሶኒ አብ ዘዳለወቶን ብውድብ ሕቡራት አፍሪካ (AU) ዝተዋደደን ዋዕላ ሚንስቴራትን በዓል ሞያታትን አይሳተፍን ኢላ ዓንቂፋ ጸኒሓስ፣ ትማሊ ብውልቀ ምስ ኤዩ ተራኺባ ዘትያ። “ብሉጽ ግደ ክትጻወቲ አለኪ፣ ሙሉእ መፍትሒ ካባኺ ኢና ንጽበ” ዝብል ሓሳብ እያ ሒዛ ቀሪባ ነይራ።

አብ ናይ ሎማዓንቲ ልዝብ በዚ ሓሳብ ኢትዮጵያ ትኹን ዋላ ግብጺ ክስማዕምዓ ከምዘይኽእላ ሱዳን አጸቢቃ ትፈልጥ እያ። ምኽንያቱ ወሰንቲን ወነንቲን እቲ ሀፍቲ ማይ ንሕና እምበር ካሊእ ስለዘይኾነ ካልኦት ዘምጽእዎ መፍትሒ አይንቅበልን ከምዝብላ ፍሉጥ እዩ። ዳርጋ ሉአላዊነትካ ገፊፍካ ምሀብ እዩ። ብፍላይ ንኢትዮጵያ ድማ ትማሊ ምስ አሜሪካን ዓለም ባንክን ዝተፈጸመ ስሕተት ምድጋም ክኸውን እዩ።

ክልትኤን ሀገራት እዚ ዘይሕሰብ እዩ ምስበላ ድማ፣ ሱዳን ትርጉም አብ ዘይብሉ ዋዕላታት ሸኾርተት እንዳበልኩ ናይ ምንባር ዓቅሊ የብለይን ዝብል ጥንክር ዝበለ ቅዋም አንጸባሪቃ አላ። ውጻእ አይትበሎ ከምዝወጽእ ግበሮ ድዩ ዝብሀል?

ጸወታ ሱዳን ብሓጺሩ ክንግምገም ከለና “እቲ ተፈጢሩ ዘሎ አጋጣሚ ምጥቃም ይሕሸኒ፣ ክጽቀጥ እየ” ማለታ ይመስል።

09/01/2021 News and Commentaries – Tigray War

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Ethiopian women raped in Mekelle, says soldier. Here is an unabridged translation of the soldier’s speech. 

Why are women being raped at this time in the city of Mekelle? This is not a war time. If it were war-time it may be expected as it is not manageable. But we are here reclaiming peace and order. With local and federal police on duty and several staffs available, how come another incident happened today after the one that was reported last night?

Satellite Images Show Ethiopia Carnage as Conflict Continues. Bloomber, Politics.

Satellite images show the destruction of United Nations’ facilities, a health-care unit, a high school and houses at two camps [Hitsats and the Shimelba] sheltering Eritrean refugees in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, belying government claims that the conflict in the dissident region is largely over.

“Recent satellite imagery indicates that structures in both camps are being intentionally targeted. The systematic and widespread fires are consistent with an intentional campaign to deny the use of the camp.” said a UK based analyst, Isaac Baker.

Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General 08.01.2021

We, along with our partners, have been able to access areas that have been previously inaccessible. Localized fighting and insecurity continues, with fighting reported in rural areas and around Mekelle, Shiraro and Shire, in the Tigray province.

Access to most parts of north-western, eastern and central Tigray remains constrained due to the ongoing insecurity and bureaucratic hurdles, and two of the four refugee camps in the region (Hitsats and Shimelba) are still not accessible.

… We estimate that 2.3 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in Tigray, including 1.3 million additional people due to the conflict and over 950,000 people already there, including refugees.

A glimpse into the health impact of Tigray war, OCHA, 08.01.2021

Only 5 out of 40 hospitals in Tigray are physically accessible, while four additional hospitals are reachable through mobile network. Apart from those in Mekelle, the remaining hospitals are looted and many reportedly destroyed, which, in addition to the insecure environment and non-payment of salaries, has halted basic health services and displaced staff.

The interruption of COVID-19 surveillance and control activities for over a month in the region, coupled with mass displacements and overcrowded conditions in displacement setting is feared to have facilitated massive community transmission of the pandemic.

Full and unrestricted humanitarian access must be granted. EU

The top 10 crises the world should be watching in 2021. The International Rescue Committee’s annual Emergency Watchlist.

War Crimes of Eritrean Troops in Tigray, reported by Jan Nyssen, full professor of geography at Ghent University (Belgium). Here is an excerpt from the report on some of the incidents observed by eyewitnesses in and around Adigrat:

  • On 18 November, Eritrean soldiers killed 59 civilians inside their houses in the border town of Zalambessa;
  • On 24 November, Eritrean soldiers drove a pick-up truck with machine guns through the central street of Adigrat and shot indiscriminately at shops, private residences, and passers-by. Several civilians were reportedly killed and wounded, including women and children;
  • On 25 November, a group of 8 – 15 citizens (according to different witnesses) stood guard at the Addis Pharmaceutical Factory in Adigrat when they were handcuffed and executed by Eritrean soldiers;
  • On 25 November, Eritrean soldiers shot 8 civilians inside their houses in the town of Hawzen.
  • On 30 November, Eritrean troops killed more than 80 people in the Church compound of Maryam Dengelat, situated 5 kilometres to SW of Idaga Hamus;
  • Staff of Dashen Brewery in Gondar informed us that their Branch Manager in Adigrat, ayte11 Isayas Asgedom, was also murdered that day at Maryam Dengelat, together with his family;
  • Around 2 – 12 December, 24 men in the village of Abraha Atsbaha were ordered by Eritrean troops to dig graves for fallen soldiers. When the men had finished, they were executed by Eritrean soldiers;
  • Around 1 – 14 December, 13 boys aged 12 – 15 years old from the village of Tokot near Idaga Hamus were ordered by Eritrean troops to load looted materials onto a truck. When they had finished, the 13 boys were shot dead by the Eritrean soldiers.
  • Around 12 – 14 December, Eritrean troops looted the Negash mosque, the most ancient centre of Islam outside Arabia, which has also been shelled. 81 (mostly Orthodox Christian) villagers were killed while trying to protect the holy site from looting;
  • Wukro has been heavily damaged mainly by organised looting, including St Mary College and the Catholic mission; the Sheba Leather Factory has been destroyed and local youth protecting the place killed in big numbers; and
  • Around 17 – 20 December, 750 inhabitants of the town of Aksum were killed by Eritrean troops when they tried to prevent them from looting the Maryam Tsion Church in the town.

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International Crisis Group. 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2021.