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Troops from neighboring Eritrea have “started to evacuate” the conflict-hit Tigray region
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.
Bismarck Myrick is a retired United States Ambassador to Lesotho from 1995 to 1998 and the Republic of Liberia from 1999 to 2002. Originally from Portsmouth, Virginia, Myrick has held multiple positions with the U.S. government over a number of decades.
Myrick entered the U.S. Army in 1959 as a private and continued with the Army for the next 20 years. During the Vietnam War, Myrick saw intense combat (1968-1969) and as a result received a Meritorious Service Medal, the Purple Heart, several Bronze Stars, and the Silver Star. In addition to Vietnam, the U.S. military deployed Myrick to Germany, South Korea, and Japan.
Myrick enrolled in Tampa University in Tampa, Florida in 1969 and received a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1972. He then received an M.A. in history from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York the following year. Over the course of his studies at Syracuse, Myrick learned Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. In 1975, Myrick began working in Ethiopia, assigned as Army foreign area officer (1975-1979).
Following his Ethiopia assignment, Myrick left the Army and in 1980 accepted a position with the U.S. State Department which sent him to Somalia for two years. He was later assigned to Liberia (1982-1984). For the rest of the decade, he worked stateside in Washington, D.C., holding a position first with the Office of Strategic Nuclear Policy (1985-1987), followed by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs (1987-1989).
From 1990 to 1993 Myrick was a political officer serving in the U.S. Consulate in Durban, South Africa and then in Cape Town (1993-1995). While there Myrick saw the dismantling of the apartheid system and the establishment for the first time of universal democracy in that nation.
Myrick’s first ambassadorial assignment came in 1995 when he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to represent U.S. interests in Lesotho, the only independent nation surrounded by South Africa. He remained there until 1998 and then the following year President Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to
The quarrel is over the rate at which Ethiopia fills the reservoir behind the dam and its effect on water supplies downstream in Sudan and Egypt--for who the Nile is the primary water source.
On and off since construction started, Egypt has threatened to go to war to secure continued access to the Nile waters.
If Egypt attacked Ethiopia, the antiquated idea that the Nile is a common good to which all have natural rights would collapse.
The Nile has two major tributaries--the White Nile is the headwaters and primary stream of the river, and the Blue Nile, containing 80 per cent of the water and originates in Ethiopia.
For now, Uganda should be able to collect custodian's fees from South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt, and invest it in protecting the polluted Lake Nalubaale from which the Nile flows, and the real estate of the river that sits on its territory as it flows north.
Ethiopia's confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday reached 582 after 88 more infections were confirmed, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said in a statement.
This is so far the highest daily increase in the Horn of Africa country, which on Saturday reported 61 new confirmed Covid-19 cases.
The Ministry of Health said all 88 new Covid-19 cases are Ethiopian nationals – 51 males and 37 females – with their ages ranging between 8 to 75 years.
The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health also said that 152 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 have so far recovered from the virus.
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with about 107 million people, confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on March 13.
May 30: Cases pass 1,000 mark; total tests top 100,000
\tEthiopia’s confirmed cases passed the 1,000 mark after today’s tallies were released.
Health Minister Dr Lia Tadesse confirmed at the meeting that 67% of the country’s total confirmed cases are from the capital Addis Ababa.
Total confirmed cases = 731 (new cases = 30)
Total recoveries = 181
Total deaths = 6
Active cases = 544
\tFigures valid as of close of day May 27, 2020
\t
May 24: 193 cases in 5 days as tally hits 582
\tEthiopia has recorded back-to-back one-day spikes, record 61 new cases on Saturday and a further 81 on Sunday toppling the Saturday record.
Ethiopia’s tally has therefore jumped by 193 new cases in a space of five days.
Total confirmed cases = 582 (new cases = 88)
Total recoveries = 152 (new recoveries = 8)
Total deaths = 5
Active cases = 423
\tTrajectory of infections between May 20 – 24
\tMay 20: 389 (24 new cases)
May 21: 398 (9 new cases)
May 22: 399 (10 new cases)
May 22: 433 (34 new cases)
May 23: 494 (61 new cases)
May 24: 582 (88 new cases)
May 19: 365 cases with 60 new cases in three days
\tTotal confirmed cases = 365 (new cases between May 17 – 19 = 60)
Total recoveries = 120 (new recoveries = 8)
Active cases = 238
\tEthiopia’s case count spiked on Monday by 35 new cases (a daily record) whiles 14 new cases were recorded today.
May 28: Field hospital on Addis outshirts
\tEthiopia will soon have a COVID-19 field hospital on the outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa.
Major African stats: May 19 at 6:00 GMT:
\t\tConfirmed cases = 88,264
\t\tNumber of deaths = 2,832
\t\tRecoveries = 33,898
\t\tActive cases = 51,534
Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, was born in Lubbock, Texas. Leland was killed when the plane in which he was a passenger crashed somewhere in southwestern Ethiopia.
Liberia was a colony for just over 17 years before partial independence was achieved through the declaration of a commonwealth (4 April 1839). True independence was declared eight years later on 26 July 1847.
The American Society for Colonization of Free People of Color of the United States (known simply as the American Colonization Society, ACS) created the Cape Mesurado Colony on the Grain Coast on 15 December 1821. This was further expanded into the Colony of Liberia on 15 August 1824. The ACS was a society initially run by white Americans who believed there was no place for Free Blacks in the US. Its administration was later taken over by Free Blacks. More »
In the 1880s Italy failed to take Abyssinia (as Ethiopia was then known) as a colony. On 3 October 1935 Mussolini ordered a new invasion and on 9 May the following year Abyssinia was annexed by Italy. On 1 June the country was merged with Eritrea and Italian Somalia to form Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI - Italian East Africa).
Emperor Haile Selassie made an impassioned appeal to the League of Nations on 30 June 1936, gaining support from the US and Russia. But many League of Nations members, including Britain and France, recognized Italian colonization.
In April 2015, members of the Islamic State killed about 20 migrant workers in Libya. The victims, believed to be Ethiopian Christians, were either shot or beheaded.
Preliminary results of May 2015 elections, gave the Ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) a landslide victory. The opposition accused the EPRDF of voter intimidation. Voter turnout was high, about 90%.
See also Encyclopedia: Ethiopia .
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities 'abandoned' thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic and did not seek hospital treatment for many who were infected, violating their human rights, Amnesty International said in an investigation published Monday. One of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, Belgium has reported more than 531,000 confirmed virus cases and more than 14,400 deaths linked to the coronavirus. During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the European nation of 11.5 million people recorded a majority of its COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes. Between March […]
The post Report: Belgian nursing homes failed patients amid pandemic appeared first on Black News Channel.
Ambassador Brita Wagener talks to DW about Ethiopia's reforms, its impending constitutional crisis prompted by its deferred August elections and how COVID-19 is affecting AU-EU relations.
To make matters worse, the coronavirus crisis hit Ethiopia just after it finally set a date to hold national elections in August.
Germany's government sent strong signals of support at the very beginning of Prime Minister Abiy's tenure with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas making his inaugural visit to Africa in Addis Ababa.
Do you believe that Germany and Europe, which have been very concerned with their own internal affairs in the coronavirus crisis, but also beforehand, are becoming less of a focus for Ethiopia?
The coronavirus crisis hit the cooperation between the European Union and the African Union at a time when the new European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyden from Germany, had been very supportive of a union on the continent.
In a message to African leaders to mark the \"Africa Day 2020,\" commemorated by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), President Buhari said Africa has given the world a new hope by choosing the theme\"Silencing the Guns in the context of the COVID-19\" for this year's Africa Day.
Mr Buhari stressed the need for African leaders to ensure that every effort is made to ensure the success of silencing the guns on the continent, emphasising the need to sensitize Africans about the inseparable connection between peace and development.
\"Peace, security, unity and harmony are prerequisites for development in Africa,\" the Nigerian leader said, urging citizens all over the continent to innovate on how\"Silencing the Guns\" can be used to achieve peace and grow African economies.
He also urged regional economic groups, civil society organisations and the private sector in Africa to take full ownership of the theme of this year's celebration to strengthen collaborative efforts among member-countries of the African Union.
Africa Day is observed annually on 25 May, to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union, which was created on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Haile Selassie deposed by military leaders after fifty-eight years as the ruling monarch of Ethiopia.
Following the Partition of Africa during the Berlin Conference of 1885, Prime Minister Francesco Crispi of Italy began his nation’s colonization in Africa. Italy focused on the Red Sea because of its trade routes to Asia and East Africa, and subsequently stationed troops in the port of Massawa in Eritrea, then part of the Ethiopian nation. Ethiopia’s King Yohannes fought back against this Italian invasion. Although initially unsuccessful, they eventually defeated the Italian troops in a battle that took place on January 26, 1887, that would be known as the Dogali Massacre. This battle left four hundred and thirty Italian troops dead and injured eighty-two. King Yohannes’s forces did not dislodge the Italians from Eritrea, but they did limit their control to that coastal province. Nonetheless, with the Dogali Massacre, Ethiopia became the first African nation to defeat a European power following the partition.
After the death of King Yohannes in 1889, the new monarch, King Menilik II, realizing the Italians would seek to conquer all of Ethiopia, began to assemble a modern arsenal for his army by opening up trade with French-controlled Djibouti, and ironically with Italian merchants at Massawa. After developing a friendly relationship with Italians partly because of this trade, Menilik in 1889 signed the Treaty of Wichale with the Italian government. While Menilik and the Ethiopians understood the treaty would give them the option to use Italian assistance to communicate with other European powers, the Italians interpreted the treaty as giving them authority over all Ethiopian trade and communications with other nations, thus effectively stripping Ethiopia of its sovereignty. This deliberate mistranslation by the Italians caused tensions between Italy and Ethiopia which led to the Italo-Abyssinian War of 1889–1896.
In preparation for the oncoming conflict, Menilik II assembled an army of one hundred and ninety-six thousand men to take on both the Italian Army of twenty-five thousand men composed of European
Ethiopia says it will start filling the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in July, after Sudan rejected a request for a partial agreement without Egypt.
On May 13, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, in a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart, Dr Abiy Ahmed, said the issues regarding the dam need a tripartite agreement between Khartoum, Addis Ababa and Cairo, before the first filling.
The tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have stalled since February, when Ethiopia boycotted the talks accusing Sudan of using the US to put pressure on them.
Egypt now wants the issue be decided based on international law, and has reached out to the US, the Arab League and the UN to put pressure on Ethiopia.
Last week, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, wrote a letter to the UN Security Council about Ethiopia’s unilateral move to fill the dam outside the tripartite discussions.
UN chief António Guterres is encouraging Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to persevere with efforts to overcome their differences and reach agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Negotiations centre on the pace at which Ethiopia fills the 74 billion cubic metre reservoir behind the dam and the impact that could have on water supplies downstream in Sudan and Egypt.
UN experts say that Egypt wants to put international pressure on Ethiopia to agree to a proposal - put forward by the United States and World Bank - on the dam's first filling and annual operation.
Egypt also insists that Ethiopia must not start filling the reservoir until an agreement is reached, in line with its interpretation of the Declaration that Ethiopia is contesting.
According to news reports, Egypt also dismissed the Ethiopian proposal on the initial filling, writing a letter to the Security Council on 1 May calling on Ethiopia to respect its obligations and resume talks.
The Treasury has refused to offer a commitment to Kenya Airways's request for a Sh7 billion emergency bailout after its aircraft were grounded due to the restrictions on international passenger flights sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said the State was keen on a long-term solution anchored in nationalisation of Kenya Airways, arguing the carrier's financial troubles go beyond the corona-related woes.
The freeze on all cross-border passenger flights on March 22 and restriction of movement into and out of four counties including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi to curb the spread of the virus has hit Kenya Airways hard.
Mr Yatani reckons that the Treasury is keen to pursue a turnaround under the plan to nationalise Kenya Airways, which was approved by lawmakers in July.
\"Kenya Airways need to remain afloat but it is also important to look at structural challenges because what is happening now is more than the business environment.\"
[HRW] Beirut -- Egyptian authorities executed 15 men convicted for alleged involvement in three cases of political violence as well as 2 women and 25 men convicted in criminal cases between October 3 and 13, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately halt executions, and re-try those sentenced to death in grossly unfair trials.
Amnesty International said late Tuesday there was “credible but disturbing evidence” that security forces in the megacity of Lagos had fatally shot protesters who were demonstrating against police brutality despite a new curfew going into effect.
The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement Tuesday night only that “there have been reports of shooting at the Lekki Toll Plaza following the 24-hour curfew imposed on Lagos.”
“The state government has ordered an investigation into the incident,” he said.
Video shown on Nigeria’s Channels Television appeared to capture audio of live rounds being fired at the scene.
“While we continue to investigate the killings, Amnesty International wishes to remind the authorities that under international law, security forces may only resort to the use of lethal force when strictly unavoidable to protect against imminent threat of death or serious injury,” Amnesty tweeted.
The development came just hours after Lagos state Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu warned on Twitter that the growing protests against police brutality in Nigeria had “degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society.”
A police statement also had warned that security forces would now “exercise the full powers of the law to prevent any further attempt on lives and property of citizens.”
The reports of fatal shootings in Lekki come after two chaotic weeks of mounting protests leading to more widespread social unrest. On Tuesday, authorities said nearly 2,000 inmates had broken out of jail after crowds attacked two correctional facilities a day earlier.
The Inspector-General of Police said it was deploying anti-riot police across Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation, and ordered forces to strengthen security around correctional facilities.
The governor of Lagos state said the new curfew would cover the entire city of some 14 million people and surrounding areas. The announcement came after a police station was burned down in the city and two people were shot dead by police.
“Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state,” the governor said.
Lagos has been the epicenter of the protests, with demonstrators at times blocking access to the airport and barricading roads leading to the country’s main ports.
A curfew also went into effect in Benin City after a pair of attacks on correctional facilities that left 1,993 inmates missing. Interior Ministry spokesman Mohammed Manga said large, armed crowds had attacked the two prisons, subduing the guards on duty. It was unclear what the prisons’ exact populations had been before the attack.
“Most of the inmates held at the centers are convicted criminals serving terms for various criminal offenses, awaiting execution or standing trial for violent crimes,” he said in a statement.
The protests began two weeks ago after a video circulated showing a man being beaten, apparently by police officers of
