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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.
[MAP] Rabat -- The security and stability challenges facing Africa, and which manifest themselves in the multiplication of conflicts and crises, require a synergy of efforts and a concerted and united response from all, underlined, Sunday in Rabat, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Mohcine Jazouli.
[ENA] Addis Ababa -- Residents of Shire and Adi Daero towns of Tigray region have expressed their readiness to stand firm with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the Interim Administration to restore peace and stability in the region.
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.
Many soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, a spokesman for the Ethiopian government task force for Tigray said on Wednesday.
[The Conversation Africa] At the launch of bitcoin in 2009 the size of the potential of the underlying technology, the blockchain, was not fully appreciated.
[African Arguments] There are reports of Ethiopian and Eritrea troops going out of their way to loot and destroy beloved churches, mosques and monasteries.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) yesterday announced two new food security programmes for Zimbabwe, Takunda and Amalima Loko, that will benefit about half a million people in the country’s dry regions. BY SHARON SIBINDI The programmes will be funded to the tune of US$130 million. Care International will be the implementing partner for Takunda, funded to the tune of US$55 million, while Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture will run the US$75 million Amalima Loko. USAid Zimbabwe mission director Art Brown said the five-year programmes would target nearly 490 000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland North, Masvingo and Manicaland provinces. “These two new programmes will build on the United States’ investment in Zimbabwean people and tackle the root causes of food insecurity and poverty by assisting almost a half a million vulnerable Zimbabweans to transition from humanitarian assistance to resilience and self-reliance,” Brown said. “Takunda, a Shona word meaning ‘we have overcome’, is a US$55 million programme implemented by CARE International. Takunda will target more than 301 000 Zimbabweans in two districts of Masvingo province, Chivi and Zaka, and two districts in Manicaland province, Buhera and Mutare.” Brown said the programme would empower women and youth to create sustainable livelihoods, improve agricultural practices and technology, and strengthen the governance and management of community assets and infrastructure, which will strengthen household and community resilience against shocks and stresses. Amalima Loko derived its name from the Ndebele word for a group of people coming together to achieve a common goal and a Tonga word that means “genuine”. “Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture will implement this US$75 million investment to improve food security for more than 188 000 vulnerable Zimbabweans in five districts of Matabeleland North province: Tsholotsho, Lupane, Nkayi, Hwange, and Binga,” the US embassy said. “The programme will increase access to food, improve nutritional behaviours, and educate communities on sustainable watershed management.” Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the American people, through USAid, have contributed over $3,2 billion in humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe.
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Some 2.1 million people across 74 Woredas in Somali Region require humanitarian assistance as a result of drought, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Management Bureau (DRMB), the UNOCHA said.
[The Point] Since the 1990s, West Africa has become a major transit and repackaging hub for cocaine and heroin originating from the Latin American and Asian producing areas to European markets.
For thousands of Ethiopians who have fled fighting in the Tigray region to Sudan, this year’s Coptic Christmas on January 7 is a sombre celebration. There will be little feasting for those living hand-to-mouth in the crowded Um Raquba refugee camp.
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.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed replaced his army chief, the head of intelligence and the foreign minister as the military continued a five-day old offensive in the restive Tigray region.
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)
[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.
