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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.
[Nation] The Chinese government says Beijing is stepping up support for Africa's post-pandemic recovery, with initial focus on vaccine access, as a \"public good\"
[Ethiopian Herald] ADDIS ABABA -The Ethiopian government has created a lot of enabling environments to undertake democratic elections, Attorney General Director Gedion Timotwos (Ph.D.) said . Presenting at the meeting hosted by the Ministry of Peace on Thursday , the attorney general said that the administration which leads by Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D) lifted a number of prohibiting legal frame works and substituted them with encouraging frame works to boost democratic land scape including in electoral procedures.
[Ethiopian Herald] ADDIS ABABA- In his recent response to the joint letter of the five U.S. Senators on the current issue of Ethiopia, Ambassador Fitsum Arega said the upcoming 6th general elections would be a historic milestone in the political transformation of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S. Fitsum reiterated that the June 5th election would be a defining moment in Ethiopia 's transformation into a genuine multiparty representative democracy.
[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.
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.
[State Department] The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray. We are also deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis. The United States has repeatedly engaged the Ethiopian government on
[UN News] Senior UN officials appealed on Friday for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray - and for an end to deadly attacks on aid workers - as the Security Council held its first open meeting on the conflict in the restive northern Ethiopian region.
[RFI] New photos from Ethiopia's Tigray region published on Thursday reveal more about the conditions thousands of people are suffering after fleeing the conflict in the country's north, as access for humanitarian aid remains difficult.
[Ethiopian Herald] Forest plays an important role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration. But efforts to restore it demands determination, resources as well expertise. According to forestsnews.cifor.org, written by Natasha Vizcarra, montane grasslands and forests dominate the Bale mountain region in Oromia, Ethiopia. Like most of the rugged Ethiopian Highlands, Bale is home to endemic flora and fauna such as the African redwood, the giant lobelia, the Ethiopian wolf and Prince Ruspoli's Turaco, a species of green bir
U.S. Department of State Background Note
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Zimbabwe
Geography
Area: 390,580 sq. km. (150,760 sq. mi.), slightly larger than Montana.
Cities: Capital--Harare (pronounced Ha-RAR-e), pop. 1.5 million. Other towns--Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Marondera.
Terrain: Desert and savanna.
Climate: Mostly subtropical.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Zimbabwean (sing.), Zimbabweans (pl.).
Population (2003 est.): 12.5 million.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to be 18% and a high level of net emigration.)
Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
Education: Attendance--mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy--90.5% (2004 est.).
Health: Infant mortality rate--51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy--men 37 (2006), women 34 (2006).
Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.
Government
Type: Parliamentary.
Constitution: December 21, 1979.
Independence: April 18, 1980.
Branches: Executive--President (chief of state and head of government), Cabinet. Legislative--In the 150-seat House of Assembly, 120 seats are popularly elected and 30 are directly appointed by the president or selected through a process strongly influenced by him. In the 66 seat Senate, 50 seats are popularly elected, 6 are directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs are elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and 2 are the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs. Judicial--High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: Town Councils and District Councils.
Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); United Peoples Party (UPP).
Economy
GDP (2006
[HRW] Kinshasa -- Trial Progress Slow Four Years after Killing of Michael Sharp, Zaida Catalán
[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.
ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI, Nov 30 - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed lauded his troops on Monday for ousting a rebellious northern movement, but the leader of Tigrayan forces said they were still resisting amid fears of a protracted guerrilla conflict
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.
An Ethiopian spokesman on Tuesday said that the country's forces fired on a UN team, claiming they ignored instructions and drove through government checkpoints in the northern region of Tigray.
The shooting came as the UN and aid agencies are continuing to seek access to northern Ethiopia, more than a week after fighting there was declared over on November 28.
\"Some of the UN staff were actually detained and some were shot at,\" said Redwan Hussein. \"They broke two checkpoints to drive to areas where they were not supposed to go, and that they were told not to go. When they were about to break the third one, they were shot at and detained.\"
Speaking at a press conference in the capital Addis Ababa, Redwan insisted the UN staffers were to blame for Sunday's incident close to the town of Shire, claiming they had \"indulged themselves in a kind of adventurous expedition\".
\"This country isn't no man's land. It has a government,\" he said.
\"If anybody is told not to go, then they have to abide by it. You cannot ignore a government warning and then try to run roughshod (over) everybody,\" he added.
Thousands have been killed in fighting that began November 4 between government forces and those loyal to the leadership of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Close to 50,000 have fled to Sudan while around 600,000 living in Tigray depended on food handouts even before the fighting began.
Last week the UN said it had signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government guaranteeing \"unconditional access for humanitarian assistance\".
However, Redwan contradicted this on Tuesday.
\"The agreement we entered is in the belief that the UN would collaborate with us and we the government would call the shots, so we coordinate, we lead, but we need assistance and a partner,\" he said.
\"For some partners to drive alone, to move alone, isn't allowed. There is no such thing as unfettered access in every corner of Ethiopia.\"
East Africa’s largest nation declared the ceasefire earlier this week, amid doubts about whether fighting would actually stop between the Federal government and rebel forces in Tigray.
Ethiopians head to the polls in the country's national and regional parliamentary elections. But a fifth of the country won't be able to cast their vote.
[African Arguments] The war against the TPLF will not be quick or easy, and it already looks to be going badly for Eritrea's president.
Emergency workers said they had been denied access to the site of the bombing, some 30km west of the regional capital Mekelle
The UN Security Council is welcoming the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers and calls for full adherence to the cessation of hostilities. \tSaturday's statement was approved by all 15 members of the council. It said...
May 21, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Al-Hadi Idris, a member of the Transitional Sovereign Council will begin Saturday a visit to Riyadh to discuss relief (...)
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.
It comes as a unity government was approved in March to lead the war-ravaged North African nation to December elections.
