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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Monday the Tigray region's dissident leaders had fled west of the regional capital after weeks of fighting but indicated federal forces were monitoring them closely and would attack them soon.
Abiy, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, this month ordered military operations against leaders of Tigray's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in response to what he said were TPLF-organised attacks on Ethiopian federal army camps.
More than three weeks of fighting between federal soldiers and pro-TPLF forces has left thousands dead in the northern region, and prompted tens of thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Sudan.
"I want them to hear me: yesterday evening, around midnight, we saw them from the situation room in the area between Hagere Selam and Abiy Addi," Abiy said in remarks to lawmakers, referring to two towns west of the Tigray capital Mekele.
"We didn't attack them at night because as they retreated they took their wives, children and abducted soldiers... But this will not continue."
The fighting has been a dramatic escalation of tensions between Abiy and the leaders of the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to office in 2018.
Abiy said on Saturday the military operations were "completed" after federal forces claimed control of the Tigray regional capital Mekele.
The TPLF leaders, however, have repeatedly vowed to fight on as long as federal forces are on Tigrayan soil.
Their exact whereabouts remain unknown.
'Mekele is ours'
As the Ethiopian military bore down on Mekele last week, global concern mounted about a possible bloodbath in a city that, before the conflict, had a population of half a million.
A communications blackout in Tigray has made it difficult to verify claims from both sides about how the fighting is going.
On Monday, Abiy claimed soldiers did not kill any civilians as they took over Mekele and other cities in Tigray.
"Mekele is ours, it was built with our own resources. We are not going to destroy it," he said. "Not even a single person was harmed by the operation in Mekele."
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday that hospitals in Mekele were flooded with trauma patients, though it did not specify how the injuries were sustained.
Abiy also dismissed claims from TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael that airstrikes had resulted in many civilian casualties.
As Abiy tries to shift towards helping Tigray recover, the national human rights body called Monday for telecommunications to be restored and for water, electricity, and health services to resume.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is government-affiliated but independent, also noted "complaints of ethnic profiling" including "forced leave from work" and travel restrictions.
"EHRC is gravely concerned that while there is no government policy nor legal framework condoning ethnic profiling, security measures designed t
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.
[Monitor] Uganda's last attempt to make the U20 Africa Cup of Nations ended in disappointing fashion but with heads held high.
WHILE promising to advise the country on measures for Christmas, the Government yesterday extended a number of the steps implemented to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.'Cabinet is currently assessing and reviewing the situation and will advise on the measures applicable for December 2020, and in particular the Christmas period, in another two weeks,' the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said in a release.
BETHLEHEM, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES – 2013/05/03: Goal Retailer exterior. (Picture by John … [+] Greim/LightRocket through Getty Photographs) 2013 John Greim Goal (NYSE: TGT) is scheduled to report its fiscal…
[New Times] As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect sports events across the globe, the Kigali International Peace Marathon has become the latest victim.
Italian Foreign Minister arrived in the Libyan capital, Wednesday, where he met with Tripoli-based Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj to discuss the Libyan internal conflict and migration agreements.
According to a statement from Sarraj’s office, the two leaders both rejected “the negative foreign interference” in the oil-rich country.
Earlier this week, Di Maio said a ceasefire is urgent given the Egyptian threat and called for the strong enforcement of the arms embargo.
Di Maio said: “I raised with Prime Minister Sarraj our concerns about military operations to liberate Sirte that could lead to renewed fighting and more civilian casualties.
“At the same time I stated how essential it is to avoid a freezing of the conflict, and that this possibility would lead to a de facto division of the country.”
The Libyan leader also presented a proposal to modify the 2017 Memorandum of Understanding on migration that was rearranged by Italy and presented to the Libyan counterparts in February.
The funeral of Hachalu Hundessa, the slain Ethiopian singer, was held Thursday in his hometown of Ambo, in the Oromia region.
The singer, whose highly political lyrics expressed frustrations of the Oromo people, who have long considered themselves marginalised, was shot dead Monday night in Addis Ababa.
Demonstrations resulted in the deaths of 81 people and increased political and communal tensions in the country.
Over the past two days, demonstrators have been expressing their anger in the capital and in Oromia, the stronghold of the Oromo people, the country’s largest ethnic group.
It was a federal government plan to expand the capital into Oromia that triggered the anti-government protests in 2015 that led to Abiy Ahmed’s accession to power three years later.
HIGHLANDERS coach Mandla Mpofu said a lot needs to be done to get the boys back in shape following the eight-month COVID-19 pandemic-induced football hiatus. BY FORTUNE MBELE The start of the 2020 Premier Soccer League season was suspended in March because of the pandemic which brought about a strict national lockdown and a ban on all sporting activities. The Bulawayo giants started their group training last week at Ascot Race Course after going through the mandatory COVID-19 testing and clubs have been given the go-ahead to start training. Mpofu yesterday said despite the excitement that they were back at work, most of the players were finding it difficult to adjust to initial stages of training, any indication that the individual training programmes designed for COVID-19 lockdowns might not have been adhered to. “It’s hard, they are finding it difficult to adjust although they are excited to be back at work. They will get there gradually. There is a lot that has to be done but we are taking things with a lot of caution. We are just opening and working on the cardio aspect and building those muscles,” Mpofu said. He said save for veteran Mkhokheli Dube, Mbongeni Ndlovu, Devine Mhindirira, Cleopas Kapupurika and Collin Mujuru, all the other players called in for testing and training. Dube was involved in a road traffic accident a few weeks ago and needs six weeks to recover after suffering a neck fracture. Mbongeni and the other assistant coach Bekithemba “Super” Ndlovu, his brother, recently lost their father, but the defender started training yesterday. Mhindirira, Kapupurika and Mujuru are based in Harare and Mpofu said he was expecting them in Bulawayo yesterday. Mujuru joined Highlanders at the beginning of the year from Harare City while the Bulawayo giants lost Brian Banda to FC Platinum during the lockdown. Tinashe Makanda's contract expired in June and reportedly joined Dynamos while Mitchelle Katsvairo mutually agreed with the club to a termination of contract and joined Botswana side Township Rollers. Goalkeeper Chris Mverechena is said to have joined camp and left. Neither Mpofu nor club spokesperson Ronald Moyo could explain his whereabouts. The Bulawayo giants also lost Prince Dube to Tanzanian club Azam FC. City neighbours Chicken Inn also started training last week and coach Joey Antipas yesterday said his boys looked good and believed they had been following training programmes the club designed for them. “The majority of the boys are in good shape which shows they were committed to the programmes that our fitness trainer (Presley Mabhena) was posting on our players’ group,' Antipas said. He said they, however, needed a full pre-season programme to prepare them for competition. “We have to do a pre-season training programme to get them back ready for competition,” he said. The 2015 championship-winning coach said only Brett Amidu, Donovan Bernard, Valentine Kadonzvo and Tichaona Chipunza, all based in Harare were yet to pitch up. Dynamos, Caps United, Bulawayo Chiefs, Herentals among others have also
Cotton appeared on Fox News where he offered, “[I]f necessary, the president should use the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty military forces to these cities to support our local law enforcement and ensure that this violence ends tonight . . .not one more night.”
In cartoonish fashion, the president announced the unleashing of thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers on the community of Washington, D. C. to, as he proclaimed, “Stop the violence. . .”
In other words, the military was being deployed in Washington, D.C. where a large Black community exists with no real political leverage because succeeding Congresses—during both Democratic and Republican administrations—have failed to work for its statehood in any meaningful way.
Instead, governors are relying on local law enforcement and National Guard resources on active duty within their respective states to support local police; unfortunately, because Washington, D. C. is not a state and does not have a governor, it is at the mercy of the president in this regard.
Readers may recall the antics of former Republican President George W. Bush during the Katrina disaster when he allegedly tried again and again to convince former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to agree to a similar action and surrender command of her state’s National Guard troops to the federal government.
However, there are statutory exceptions—like the Insurrection Act—which allow the president to use military force to suppress insurrection or to enforce federal authority, as well as exceptions that permit the Department of Defense to provide federal, state, and local police with information equipment, and personnel.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is to decide shortly if it will give the green light for broadcaster Markland 'Action' Edwards to be its standard-bearer in the election to choose the next mayor of Portmore.
CIVIL servants yesterday caved in and accepted government’s 41% salary increase offer, which will see the lowest paid teacher getting $19 000, while the lowest earning civil servant will get about $14 000 with effect from November 1. BY RICHARD MUPONDE/MOSES MATENGA They also accepted bonus payments which will be staggered until December. This was confirmed by Apex Council spokesperson, David Dzatsunga, who said they had agreed to the government offer, which would include transport, housing and special representative allowances. Last Friday, the government made a take it or leave it offer to its workers in an attempt to end the long-running strike by teachers. Labour unions representing teachers had been demanding US$520 which they used to get in 2018. The teachers’ unions said the Apex council should declare a deadlock so that the matter could be taken for arbitration. Dzatsunga said the Apex Council then asked for time to consult with its constituency before a meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) which took place yesterday. “We have signed an agreement today (Monday). We agreed that the government will pay 41% of basic salary, and all other allowances that include housing, transport, special allowances and representative allowances,” Dzatsunga said. “So we said the government should go ahead and pay. Further to that it will pay bonuses which will be staggered from November to December. Of interest is the teachers’ salaries which will see teachers getting about $19 000 and the lowest paid civil servant, B1 getting about $14 000,” he said. Dzatsunga said they agreed to meet again in January next year to come up with how they could restore the lost value of the 2018 salaries. “We said, therefore, it’s best that the meeting takes place and that going forward the government should emphasise on the salaries of civil servants,” he said. He said they agreed to sign the deal because they saw that the year was left with a few weeks, adding that if they had refused to do so, workers were not going to get an increment this year. “Some had indicated that we declare a deadlock and go for arbitration but we saw that it takes months for the process to be concluded, to even mid-next year before a verdict is passed, which is not always in our favour. We saw that a deadlock is not in our favour and agreed to take the money which is there as we negotiate further.” Teachers’ unions that have been pushing for a deadlock including the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe. After the NJNC meeting, Zimta, the largest teachers’ organisation asked its members to go back to their workstations. In a letter dated November 16 signed by its national secretary-general, Tapson Nganunu Sibanda, the teachers’ union said they were pushing for a deadlock but they were outvoted by other unions. “It’s now common knowledge that Zimta presented a motion to Apex Council through a letter circulated this morning, a position that encouraged Apex Council and the NJNC to declare a deadlock and
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the U.S. has \"not adequately investigated\" two U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this year that killed seven civilians.
The group released a report Tuesday on airstrikes in Somalia, which it considers possible violations of international humanitarian law.
Human Rights Watch said it has no evidence the U.S. Africa Command or the Somali government spoke with the victims' family members or evaluated their claims for reparations.
The group said it found no evidence the attacks were targeting the terrorist group al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-affiliated group based in Somalia.
The U.S. admitted killing two Somali civilians in 2019, but rights groups in Africa contend the deaths could be higher.
Testing for HIV whenever blood is taken in England – regardless of the person’s gender,...
The post Everyone should test for HIV to end new cases by 2030, says landmark new report for World AIDS Day appeared first on Voice Online.
Zambia expects to conclude talks over buying Glencore's stake in Mopani Copper Mines within a month, according to Barnaby Mulenga, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mines.
1. Biden Administration Aims to Show Full Diversity of America What You Need To Know: On the heels of a historic campaign and win making a woman of color, Senator Kamala Harris, Vice President-Elect, many are now looking at the make up of the Biden transition staff and beyond, to a Biden administration. 2. Trump […]
THE team which is set to represent Zimbabwe in the 2020 men’s Under-17 Cosafa Championship has been presented with a golden opportunity to prove its mettle, following Cosafa’s announcement that two top performing players will be rewarded with a life-changing trip to Spain for training and rehabilitation at selected La Liga Santander teams. BY TERRY MADYAUTA The Cosafa tournament is set to commence on Thursday, ending on November 29. The same opportunity was extended to the Under-17 girls whose tourney ended last week, with Zimbabwe performing dismally. However the boys hope to do better and get the chance to be trained in Spain. Eddie Mashiri leads the team as head coach, and though his selection has been questioned, the former Dynamos player hopes to silence his critics. Cosafa secretary-general Sue Destombes said the initiative marked the beginning of developmental engagements with La Liga. “This experience will be much more than just in the sights and sounds of Spain, it will show the two girls and two boys what it takes to be a professional player overseas. “For most of the players who took part in the tournament, the dream is to be a professional footballer and for women across our southern African region, that is now an attainable goal. “La Liga is one of the most prestigious football competitions in the world and learning on their experience and expertise will be a huge benefit for our members. “But it takes hard work and dedication as well as skill and so a first-hand glimpse of what is required,” she said. La Liga managing director for southern Africa Marcos Pelegrin said: “For La Liga, it is a great pleasure to provide the platform for both the boys and girls to go to Spain and get experience on how development football is for our Santander teams. “They will get a chance to train with some teams and to compare themselves with Spanish equivalents. “Also, if COVID-19 allows, we are hoping that they will get to watch one live La Liga Santander game. “This trip will be great for their football development but even greater for their personal development. “They will get to experience a different culture and expand their knowledge. “This is the first project that we run with Cosafa since the signing of our agreement and we are looking forward to running more projects with them.” Follow Terry on Twitter @madyautatpm
[Monitor] In an efforts to reign in on high blood pressure, also called hypertension, which is blood pressure that is higher than normal, three important institution, namely; AstraZeneca, Uganda's Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB) have launched an initiative that should help Ugandans decrease the burden of dealing with lifestyle diseases.
Two years after a pair of deadly crashes, the Federal Aviation Administration has finally cleared the Boeing 737 MAX for a return to the skies. That's good news for Boeing's business, but it's unclear who will want the plane: Airlines already face tough times in a pandemic environment, and consumers may be scared of the MAX. Now Boeing has to […]
The post What Boeing Has To Do To Woo Back Terrified Consumers first appeared on The Florida Star | The Georgia Star.
Boko Haram was responsible for the brutal deaths of more than 400 people in and around Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria in February and early March 2014. Among its victims were children watching a soccer match and dozens of male students at a public college in Yobe State, many of whom were burned or shot to death. The group was also blamed for a rush-hour bomb set off in April at a bus station in Nyanya, a city on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, that killed more than 70 people.
In April, the group kidnapped about 280 girls from a school in the northeast with the intention of making the girls sex slaves. The mass kidnapping—and the governments slow response and inept attempts to rescue them—sparked international outrage and anti-government protests in Nigeria. A social media campaign sparked widespread news coverage of the kidnappings and put pressure on Jonathan to take action against Boko Haram.
In a videotaped message released in early May, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, said the group planned to sell the abducted girls and threatened to give their hands in marriage because they are our slaves. We would marry them out at the age of 9. We would marry them out at the age of 12. He also reiterated the groups core belief that Western education is a sin.
The U.S. sent a team from the State Department, the F.B.I. and the Pentagon, 80 troops, and manned and unmanned surveillance drones to Nigeria in May to help to locate the girls. Another 68 girls were kidnapped in June in Borno state; 63 of the girls escaped weeks later.
While the world was focused on the search for the girls, violence attributed to Boko Haram continued. About 100 people were killed in a suicide attack in Jos and dozens more died in a series of attacks on villages in May. The violence continued into the summer, with the military stepping up its attacks on the group. In late June, a bomb attributed to Boko Haram killed about two dozen people in Abuja, the capital. The attack on the city, which is located in central Nigeria,
It has been a week since the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League concluded, with Mumbai Indians snapping up their fifth title.
His death immediately rekindled tensions. Demonstrations resulted in the deaths of 81 people and increased political and communal tensions in the country.
Since assuming office, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner has worked to promote political and economic reforms.
However, this has opened the way open for inter-communal violence, which is putting the Ethiopian system of ethnic federalism to the test.
AFP
The interesting thing about this pandemic is that, unlike a friend’s choice to go vegan or buy a dog from a breeder, this is temporary. Very temporary. It might be a shame to make a permanent decision based on a temporary circumstance.
The remains of Guinea Bissau's former President João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira will Monday be relocated from Bissau municipal cemetery to José D'Amura fortress, a heroes' corner, after the country's cabinet approved the symbolic move.
[DW] Booker Prize nominee Tsitsi Dangarembga was bundled into a police truck in Harare during anti-government protests. The demonstrations coincided with the second anniversary of President Mnangagwa's election.
[Nation] The Covid-19 pandemic has handed Kenyan fishermen an unexpected boon after fish imports from China dropped to Sh993.62 million in the last nine months of the year, compared to the Sh2.03 billion in 2019.
Mechanical engineer Howard Chin says it is time to overhaul the material and methods being used for road surfacing or the country will continuously be plagued with the problem of extensive damage after rains such as those which lashed the island in recent weeks.
[New Frame] Americans love to promote the myth that they have the corner on government by and for the people, but the latest brouhaha at the polls suggests otherwise.
Born in Queens, New York, and growing up in the Bronx, New York, Jenkins was the child of a day care worker (her mother) and a store manager (her father). She attended a private all-girls high school in New York where she excelled at academics and athletics, and graduated in 1978. After graduation, Jenkins moved to Massachusetts to attend Amherst College.
Jenkins graduated from Amherst in 1982 and later enrolled in law school at Albany Law School. While in law school, she wanted a greater challenge, so she enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves in 1986. She served for six years as a paralegal at bases in Massachusetts and at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. In 1992 she applied for a direct officer commission into the U.S. Naval Reserve for which she was accepted and ultimately rose to lieutenant commander.
Near the end of law school, Jenkins won a prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF), working at the Pentagon and the State Department with the U.S. Arms Control Disarmament Agency. Her duties included traveling abroad with U.S. ambassadors and delegations as a legal advisor and counselor on negotiations for key arms control and nonproliferation treaties, ultimately doing so as a legal advisor for nine years.
Jenkins has also served as legal advisor to several important congressionally established commissions, including the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, established in 1999, and as a consultant to the 2000 National Commission on Terrorism. She also served as counsel to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, from 2004 to 2004.
Beginning in 2004, Jenkins worked as a program officer for U.S. Foreign and Security Policy at the Ford Foundation where she was responsible for strengthening public engagement in U.S. foreign and security policy formulation as well as funding programs related to peacekeeping, women in conflict, and natural
