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By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's government says its security forces shot at and detained United Nations staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled Tigray region. Senior official Redwan Hussein told reporters that the U.N. staffers were to blame because they 'broke' two checkpoints to go to areas where 'they were not supposed to go.' He said the staffers have since been released. The shooting occurred amid soaring frustration among humanitarians as aid is still not freely reaching the Tigray region more than a week after the U.N. and Ethiopia's government signed a […]
The post Ethiopia's forces shoot at, detain UN staffers in Tigray appeared first on Black News Channel.
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.
By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As Georgia counties prepare for a hand tally of the presidential race, the state's top elections official plans to quarantine after his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Thursday. An audit of one race is required before election results are certified by the state, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday that he had selected the presidential race. Because of the tight margin in that race — Democrat Joe Biden leads Republican President Trump by about 14,000 votes — Raffensperger said the audit would result in a […]
The post Georgia counties prepare for hand tally of presidential race appeared first on Black News Channel.
A Full-Blown Air Attack
The “first round of operations\" against the forces of the state of Tigray in the well-armed northern region has been carried out in the form of airstrikes — as announced by Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday evening. Abiy also asserted that the offensive in multiple locations in the capital, Mekele “completely destroyed rockets and other heavy weapons\" in order to render any retaliatory attack impossible. The airstrikes were the Ethiopian government's military response to the recent attack on federal troops by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front ruling party — the \"last straw\" for the Prime Minister following months of political defiance and mounting regional tensions.
First Blood of Civil War?
There has been no mention of casualties as of yet nor has there been an immediate response from the Tigray government. The region continues under a six-month state of emergency imposed by the federal government.
Experts say that this marks a significant escalation in the inter-regional conflict that could result in an all-out civil war in one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries.
Aid groups warn a humanitarian disaster is in the making if fighting continues, with the COVID-19 pandemic one of several crises.
It was not clear what mediation efforts might be underway and the African Union — based in Ethiopia, has not issued a statement.
POLICE are investigating a robbery case in Esigodini, Matabeleland South province, where six robbers walked away with US$87 000 and R38 800 on Monday. BY RICHARD MPONDE “The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating an armed robbery case which occurred in Esigodini on November 9, 2020 when a gang of six suspects attacked a family with machetes and a bold cutter,” national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said in a statement. “The suspects used a bolt cutter to break burglar bars of a sitting room window and went on to tie the two complainants with an electric cable and shoelace before ransacking the house. “Complainants were robbed US$87 000 and R38 800 cash which was in a safe, four Samsung Galaxy tablet cellphones, Samsung laptop and a 32-gig flash disk.” The police urged people, including miners to be security conscious and avoid keeping such large amounts of cash in their houses. Cases of robberies are on the rise with the robbers including members of the security such as police and soldiers. This week, a Seke businessman was robbed of US$30 000 by robbers which he was keeping in the house. Meanwhile, leader of an Esigodini notorious gang of gold panners and businessman Baron Dube has been jailed to an effective 10 years for shooting a rival to death in a gold rush in the farming area of Matabeleland South province. Dube (44) of Habane Extension Township pleaded not guilty to murder when his trial started last year, but was convicted on Tuesday by Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Maxwell Takuva. He was sentenced to an effective 10 years after the court noted that he committed the offence in aggravating circumstances. In sentencing him, Takuva noted that Dube acted out of greed as the offence was committed in a gold rush. “In the first place, you had no right to be at that mine which you claimed the owner tasked you to manage. There was a gold rush at the mine and you were driven there by greed because you are a bully,” Takuva said. In his defence, Dube said he accidently shot the now deceased, Prince Antony Bvundura (22) after he fell down in an attack by his gang, leading in his rifle discharging. Dube’s sworn rival with whom he has had several fights over gold claims and also a gang leader Mkhululi Sibanda was the key witness in the matter.
Just one day after putting out a dire emergency warning, Ethiopia's federal government has agreed to allow the United Nations "unimpeded" humanitarian access to parts of the northern Tigray region, according to a UN spokesperson.
Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday that Maryland will provide an additional $70 million in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic amid a surge in state cases, with the funds going toward items such as personal protective equipment, vaccination supplies and food banks.
[ENA] Addis Ababa -- A new round of tripartite negotiation between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will resume today, according to Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy.
[Radio Dabanga] Khartoum / El Gedaref -- Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan Abdallah Suleiman reported yesterday morning that 24,944 Ethiopian refugees fleeing the war in the neighbouring Tigray region have been registered so far. Most of them are women, children and elderly.
