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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.
July 1: ‘Several’ killed in Ethiopia unrest after singer shot dead
Ethiopia’s prime minister says “several people” have been killed in unrest that followed the killing of a popular singer this week. Some reports say over 50 people were killed. Three bombs exploded in the capital Tuesday, police said. It was not clear whether anyone was killed.
Angry protests were reported Tuesday in the capital, Addis Ababa, after Hachalu Hundessa was shot dead on Monday. He had been a prominent voice in anti-government protests that led to a change in leadership in 2018, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed taking office.
The killing was a “tragedy,” Abiy said Tuesday, vowing that the perpetrators would be brought to justice and declaring that “our enemies will not succeed.”
“Our enemies think they can easily disintegrate us; however we will use this incident to unify the country and to ensure our plans for peace and security of the country continue. The government will step up its works to realize the peace and stability and sovereignty of the country,” he added.
Internet service has been cut again in Ethiopia, where tensions continue after the government delayed this year’s national election, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The singer Hachalu is set to be buried Thursday in his hometown in the Oromia region.
A well-known Oromo activist, Jawar Mohammed, was among 35 people arrested during the latest unrest. There was no immediate sign of protests in Addis Ababa on Wednesday and roads were empty.
AP
June 30: Ethiopia arrests Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed, OMN shut down
The arrest of prominent Ethiopian pro-democracy activist Jawar Mohammed has been confirmed by multiple sources from the country. His media outfit, Oromia Media Network, OMN, has also been shut down by authorities.
The arrest comes in the wake of mass protests against the shooting and killing on Monday night of a famed Oromo musician and activist in Addis Ababa.
Hachalu Hundessa, was celebrated as a symbol for the Oromo people – Ethiopia’s most populous ethnic group. His songs spoke out about their political and economic marginalisation and became a rallying point for activists in their fight against Ethiopian regimes.
The musician had also been imprisoned for five years when he was 17 for taking part in protests, an analysis on the BBC Africa LIVE page added.
Jawar was reportedly arrested along with Bekele Gerba, a veteran opposition activist. The duo were arrested at the Oromo Cultural Center in Addis Ababa, where they were attending the funeral of Hachalu.
OMN reported on Tuesday morning via its Facebook page that their offices had been raided by federal security agents who ‘arrested’ employees. They also said the OMN offices in Addis Ababa was under control of the state.
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Jawar vs. A
[Capital FM] Nairobi -- President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged parties to the ongoing internal conflict in Ethiopia to find peaceful means to end the crisis.
Black Americans are less likely to receive mental health treatment than the overall population. But as needs soar this year, faith leaders are tapping health professionals to share coping skills churchgoers and the community can use immediately.
At least 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks on villages by armed gangs.
Possible retaliation
Last week, Nigeria's armed forces launched a series of bomb raids on camps in the northwest region in its latest attempt to curtail violence in the area.
In an apparent retaliation attack, armed gang members raided five villages in the Sabon Birni district on Monday, killing 18 people.
Rival communities in the region have been embroiled in years of violent conflict over land, with armed gangs and vigilante groups carrying out reprisal killings and ransom kidnappings.
According to the ICG, northwest Nigeria risks becoming a \"land bridge\" to jihadist groups across the Sahel region and called for stronger cooperation between Nigeria and Niger to prevent trafficking of arms on the border.
[Monitor] Uganda's last attempt to make the U20 Africa Cup of Nations ended in disappointing fashion but with heads held high.
Quite what would have triggered last week’s outburst by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) in response to correspondence sent to the Palm Court Restaurant and Bar by the COVID-19 Task Force in the matter of what the Task Force says is the popular downtown entertainment facility’s repeated breaching of the restrictions associated with the pandemic, is difficult to tell.
The article The PSC, Palm Court and the COVID-19 Task Force appeared first on Stabroek News.
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.
As the ruling party of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region fires rockets at the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, we look at the crisis stoking fears of a devastating conflict in Africa's second most populous country.
Defunding the police does NOT mean eliminating police. You can say it 100 times but people fundamentally opposed to your equality will always alter your words to apply a meaning convenient to their narrative, as if they are the victims.
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…
