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Over 400 000 people have "crossed the threshold into famine" in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region, a senior UN official said on Friday, appealing for urgent humanitarian action to help the millions affected by the brutal eight-month long conflict.
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.
Ethiopia is the second-most populous country in Africa with 110 million people, and by far the most important power in the Horn of Africa.
[HRW] Kinshasa -- Trial Progress Slow Four Years after Killing of Michael Sharp, Zaida Catalán
[AIM] Maputo -- The number of displaced people in Mozambique has risen to 723,000, Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario announced on Wednesday.
[Ethiopian Herald] ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's 6th round general elections would be a historic milestone as it is highly expected to address long -awaited citizens' quest for democracy , politicians so remarked. All Ethiopian Social Movement Member Abera Yemaneab told local media that he is so hopeful that the upcoming general elections would be credible and offer a glimmer of hope for Ethiopia's democracy Abera added that the elections would for sure bring about socio-political freedom and equality despite various shortcomings
[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.
In the spring of 2012, the former rebels who were integrated into the army in 2009 mutinied, saying the government—rife with corruption—had reneged on terms of the cease-fire that was signed on March 23, 2009. The rebels, called the M23 movement, are led by Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, a Tutsi who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. M23 fought government troops throughout the year, taking over city after city. The violence peaked in November, when the rebels took Goma in eastern Congo. Rwanda, which is led by Tutsi Paul Kagame, is widely suspected of not only supplying arms to the rebels but also fighting alongside them.
The UN and leaders from 11 central African nations, including the presidents of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo, signed a framework agreement in February 2013, pledging to work together to end the conflict with the rebels. In March, the UN Security Council authorized an intervention brigade of 3,000 troops to disarm the rebels. The brigade supplemented the 15,000 UN peacekeeping troops already in Congo. After heavy fighting in August, the UN brigade forced the rebels out of Goma. However, the signers of the framework agreement had made little progress in the peace process.
Ntaganda turned himself in to the U.S. embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2013. He was transferred to the Hague, where he will face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was not clear why he chose to surrender.
The M23 rebels surrendered in November 2013. The UNs more aggressive approach, an improved Congolese Army, and a reduction in aid to Rwanda contributed to the defeat of the rebels.
See also Encyclopedia: Congo (Kinshasa)
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Congo (Kinshasa)
The United States has begun restricting visas for government and military officials of Ethiopia and Eritrea seen as undermining efforts to resolve the deadly fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region, saying it is time for the international community to take action.
By Rodney Muhumuza The Associated Press Thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the nation's capital May 30 to protest outside pressure on the government over its brutal war in Tigray. Protesters at the rally in Addis Ababa carried banners that criticized the United States and others in the international community who are voicing concern over atrocities […]
The post Ethiopians protest US sanctions over brutal Tigray war appeared first on Afro.
[The Conversation Africa] After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later for logistical challenges, millions of Ethiopians go to the polls on Monday. Held in the midst of historic domestic challenges - not least a war in Tigray region and instability in Western Oromia region - this election will be significant for several reasons. Here is why.
[VOA] Geneva -- The U.N. Children's Fund warns at least 33,000 severely malnourished children in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region face imminent death if they do not receive immediate help to treat their condition.
Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, is half the size of Illinois. Guinea, in the north and east, and Liberia, in the south, are its neighbors. Mangrove swamps lie along the coast, with wooded hills and a plateau in the interior. The eastern region is mountainous.
Constitutional democracy.
The Bulom people were thought to have been the earliest inhabitants of Sierra Leone, followed by the Mende and Temne peoples in the 15th century and thereafter the Fulani. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the land and gave Sierra Leone its name, which means “lion mountains.” Freetown, on the coast, was ceded to English settlers in 1787 as a home for blacks discharged from the British armed forces and also for runaway slaves who had found asylum in London. In 1808 the coastal area became a British colony, and in 1896 a British protectorate was proclaimed over the hinterland.
Sierra Leone became an independent nation on April 27, 1961. A military coup overthrew the civilian government in 1967, which was in turn replaced by civilian rule a year later. The country declared itself a republic on April 19, 1971.
A coup attempt early in 1971 led to then prime minister Siaka Stevens calling in troops from neighboring Guineas army, which remained for two years. Stevens turned the government into a one-party state under the aegis of the All Peoples Congress Party in April 1978. In 1992 rebel soldiers overthrew Stevenss successor, Joseph Momoh, calling for a return to a multiparty system. In 1996, another military coup ousted the countrys military leader and president. Nevertheless, a multiparty presidential election proceeded in 1996, and Peoples Party candidate Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won with 59.4% of the vote, becoming Sierra Leones first democratically elected president.
But a violent military coup ousted President Kabbahs civilian government in May 1997. The leader of the coup, Lieut. Col. Johnny Paul Koroma, assumed the title Head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Koroma began a
While delivering the Thabo Mbeki lecture, Professor 'Funmi Olonisakin said the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region was evidence of the shortcomings of the African Union.
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Following the latest U.S. announcement of visa restrictions for \"any current or former\" Ethiopian, Eritrean officials \"responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray,\" the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has responded to the decision by the United States stating it as a continuation to exerting undue pressure on Ethiopia.
[State Department] The United States has deepening concerns about the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray region as well as other threats to the sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. People in Tigray continue to suffer human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities, and urgently needed humanitarian relief is being blocked by the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries as well as other armed actors. Despite significant diplomatic engagement, the parties to the conflict in Tigray have taken no me
The UN Security Council has called for an accelerated availability of coronavirus vaccines for Africa and said the continent had so far only received 2% of the vaccines produced globally.
[Shabelle] The UN Security Council will meet to discuss Somalia's political crisis, diplomatic sources said Monday, after opposition leaders in the East African country declared the president illegitimate.
[Ethiopian Herald] Ethiopia's law enforcement operation in the northern part of Ethiopia was distorted and at best misrepresented in reputable media outlets in the West. Tibebe Samuel, who is the Executive Director of Tibebe and Associates, a US based consulting firm, questions \"Why are Western Media outlets against Ethiopia?\"
\"Serious violations of international law, which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, may have been committed,\"- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
[DW] Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the government will launch more military attacks on the Tigray region. His announcement comes amid international calls for an end to hostilities.
[VOA] Hawzen -- On the outskirts of Hawzen, Ethiopia, rocks and dirt cover the bodies of war victims in shallow graves.
The Weekndis assisting in a crisis taking place in the East African country of Ethiopia. The Grammy award winner revealed on his Instagram page over […]
A United Nations report has alleged that recruits of the Somalia National Army participated alongside the Eritrean army in the Tigray region in what can be termed as an illegal international military operation.
