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[RFI] Ethiopia's army captured the town of Alamata, in southern Tigray, 115 kilometres from the regional capital Mekelle, according to a statement on Monday by the Ethiopian government, as a conflict between the federal government and Tigray region continues to escalate.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
guest column:Anadi Arnold Sululu I WAS following social media postings in the past few weeks, where cases of corruption allegations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, among other African countries, were exploding. It jolted me to revisit a chapter on corruption in an unfinished book which I am currently penning. The recommendations I earlier made gave me an urge to ignite talk about corrupt practices, and stimulate debate with a view to finding a lasting solution to this vice. In 2012, then President Robert Mugabe stunned the whole nation when he announced that US$15 billion of Zimbabwe’s diamond revenue had gone missing. I was baffled. I realised that the old man had guts to tell fellow citizens such depressing news when the majority of the people were already distressed by poverty. Many tough-minded critics asked questions and raised their voices high, but no action has been taken — either to follow up on these damaging allegations, or to check if any culprits had been brought to book. A whole US$15 billion just went missing. But how, is the question that has not been answered? Sadly, Mugabe went to his grave without letting the cat out of the bag. He did not divulge who was involved and why he raised the issue. Surely, this was not a joke. He was serious. How can a whole nation be kept in darkness on such an important matter that affects it directly? All that stolen money was foreign currency. It is not the useless bond paper money. In 2011, each Member of Parliament was allocated US$50 000 under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) during the coalition government. I give thanks to all the united 210 MPs who debated positively and convinced the Executive to act wisely. Unfortunately, corruption reared its ugly head and some constituencies did not benefit anything as MPs and some ministers diverted the funds to their own use. An audit was done and its findings were documented in a publication produced by the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs. I understand that the publication was never distributed to the public because it exposed serious corruption by some named ministers. They converted to personal use the whole US$50 000 they got for the development of their constituencies. Reliable sources told us both Mugabe and then Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (both now late) shelved the document to avoid havoc and preferred to keep the government of national unity intact. Nevertheless, assuming that the US$15 billion was distributed to the 210 constituencies in Zimbabwe, each was to receive US$71 500 000. Surely this money would do wonders. Our constituency, Silobela, could have been changed and become a developed rural area and heading towards town status by now. Imagine new schools, new clinics, recreational centres, libraries, dams and irrigation schemes would have been constructed with that money. The 15km potholed strip road between Kwekwe and Silobela could have been tarred with US$15 million. Road engineers told us in 2010 that it cost roughly US$800 000 to US$1 000 000 to construct and t
[ENA] Addis Ababa -- The House of Federation has anonymously approved a proposed resolution presented to it by the federal government to interfere and establish transitional administration in Tigrai Regional state.
Lincoln standing high over an African American on one knee.
But century not our own.
African Americans, most of them former woke moderns to cancel these African Americans sense of their are complaints that the African American is naked from the
The Ethiopian government says operations by its defence forces are underway in Tigray its northern region
The move comes after the government of prime minister Abiy Ahmed declared an “unexpected war” on it’s northern state, threatening the stability of one of the world’s most strategic regions, the Horn of Africa.
Birhanu Jula Gelalcha, Deputy Chief of the Ethiopian Army described the war a shameful one. \"O ur country has entered into a war that it did not want. This war is a shameful war. It does not have a point. The people of Tigray and its youth and its security forces should not die for this pointless war. Ethiopia is their country.\" the army chief explained.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are accused of an unprovoked attack on the Ethiopian army’s northern command, and of trying to loot its weapons.
Tensions between the government and TPLF, which used to be part of the governing coalition before falling out with Mr Abiy, have escalated in recent months.
The TPLF has accused Abiy’s administration of trying to destroy Tigray’s right to self-determination and conspiring with Ethiopia’s northern neighbour Eritrea to stage a military attack.
(Tigrinya) Debretsion Gebremichael, President of the Tigray Regional State. berated the government's move.
\"In the regions around Tigray there is a massing of military forces. Consequently I have announced at a news conference to say that they are surrounding us with their forces. I stated that they have decided to go to war and we should all prepare to foil it. This is our proclamation, so let it be clear\". Gebremicheal said.
He stressed there was no reason for this because the people of Tigray held an election. \"There was nothing new that happened. This is the action of a self-loving government that is trying to resolve, albeit though not possible, political differences through force, weapons, and war. That is why they have declared war on the people of Tigray.\"
On Tuesday, the federal parliament proposed that the TPLF be designated as a \"terrorist organisation.\"
