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A United Nations report has alleged that recruits of the Somalia National Army participated alongside the Eritrean army in the Tigray region in what can be termed as an illegal international military operation.
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.
(CBM) - With concerns still lingering about the safety and side effects, the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has passed the full approval process and it is ready for distribution in the U.S. The first doses will arrive at California hospitals this week. On Dec. 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use […]
EDITORIAL COMMENT ZIMBABWEANS have suffered a lot at the hands of the Zanu PF-led regime. Honestly, the legislation of a law that curtails freedom of expression is the least they deserve at this juncture. The proposed legislation, the brainchild of Pupurai Togarepi the Zanu PF chief whip, which Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabiza was at pains to justify, should not be allowed to see the light of day. Mabiza reportedly said it is the prerogative of the State to engage other nations on matters to do with international relations, hence the law would criminalise acts such as communicating with foreign governments without approval, making statements which may harm the country and conniving with hostile governments to harm the nation. At face value, the proposed legislation appears to be a brainwave. But the question that begs an answer is: Is the law necessary in a constitutional democracy where freedom of expression is enshrined in the supreme law of the land? The answer is an emphatic no. No because communication which exposes human rights violations and other ills highlights the shortcomings of a sitting government for the good of the country and this should be viewed as patriotism of the highest order. Yes loyalty to the State of Zimbabwe which we all owe our allegiance to. We wish to make it clear to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his acolytes that the nation owes allegiance and should be patriotic to the State, and not his administration, which is the author of the mess the country is mired in as we speak and that exposure of malpractices is an obligation of all patriotic Zimbabweans. It should not be viewed as bravery as is the case in the country. Bravery yes because you have put yourself at the mercy of the government and are bound to face the wrath of the entire State arsenal. It’s like one has committed treason yet government should be answerable to the electorate. Curtailment of freedoms is not a new phenomenon in the country as during the tenure of the late former President Robert Mugabe we watched in servile acquiesce a media organisation being closed by then Information minister Jonathan Moyo under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. That Act has been repealed, but Mnangagwa’s administration wants to smuggle it back masked as patriotism law. The citizenry can’t be fooled for the umpteenth time, once bitten twice shy. Watch the space, media houses won’t be spared by the proposed draconian law. Mnangagwa should be stopped lest we continue gravitating towards a one-party State. In the 1980s, the nation was patriotic but that has since changed because a sense of belonging and ownership that used to be the hallmark of our nation has been lost as people watch in awe while the elite plunders national resources which are supposed to be shared by all and sundry. Mnangagwa should not be allowed to silence the voice of the people which he aptly referred to as the voice of God. What has befallen our listening President, we wonder.
WHAT a low-spirited start to the New Year it has been. All the dark episodes of 2020, with all the grief and death seem to have spilled to 2021 with COVID-19 arguably the worst nightmare. This time, it appears it is more deadly and has a strong appetite to devour judging by the soaring numbers of infections and deaths. After the reckless partying that ushered merrymakers into the New Year, authorities had to act and indeed, the lockdown was the only viable action. The swift reaction by the government to impose a lockdown that includes closure of bars, bottlestores, gyms and other facilities could not have come at a better time. It was timely and life-saving but of course with its own negativity. In the last week alone, Zimbabwe recorded 1 342 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths, representing the highest number of cases recorded to date. On January 2, 2021, 407 new cases were recorded and eight deaths and such numbers are nothing to ignore. The reality we all feared is with us now. COVID-19 is a killer and is ravaging communities hence the need to stop the recklessness that had taken centre stage. The lockdown will, however, mean nothing if there is no proper enforcement and this time, vigilance is needed by enforcers. Of course we are not saying the military and police should use maximum force that borders on human rights violations like we witnessed last year. Soaring cases, particularly in the last two months have risen to terrifying levels and we have been waiting for the government to act. Government was relaxed in that period with some of its officials posting on their social media platforms pictures of themselves partying, completely oblivious of COVID-19 regulations. That was inexcusable recklessness by Cabinet ministers at a time the people needed to be shepherded into responsible behaviour. As if such carelessness by ministers was not enough, President Emmerson Mnangagwa addressed hundreds of Zanu PF supporters in Chivi, Masvingo province, exposing them to the deadly disease. Well, that is now in the past but the point remains that it is incumbent upon the leadership to lead by example so that the followers will follow responsibly. We also witnessed towards the end of the year a “super-spreader” event in the form of a chaotic MDC-T extraordinary congress and that Thokozani Khupe was immediately taken ill after the indaba. This is no longer a joke and the deaths, some of them of prominent people in the last two days, should be enough lessons for authorities to act responsibly. Thankfully, the lockdown is a step in the right direction. It will, however, come to naught if it ends just as a lockdown without putting in place other measures including availing ventilators in hospitals and improving testing for the virus. In these trying times, we must not forget those in the frontline, the health workers who are daily exposed to COVID-19 as they try to save lives. The government needs to act and provide all the necessary support. It is a fight we must win together, and we will.
IN THE early hours of November 4, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the...
The post Ethiopian National Defense Forces Base comes under attack appeared first on Voice Online.
Centre for Women Against Abuse (CWAA), an organisation that works with women and girls in Mashonaland West province noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had created many challenges, especially for women and girls.
“To navigate difficulties brought about by COVID-19, most families and guardians are marrying off their young girls as a survival mechanism,” the report added.
The CWAA director added that, just like the Nancy case, some parents marry off girls to reduce the number of children they have to support or to access bailouts in the form of lobola.
Extended school holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic exposed many girls to abuse, noted African Union goodwill ambassador for the campaign to end child marriages, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda.
A United Nations report released in April predicted that the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 414 200 lives globally since the disease was discovered in China last year, could lead to an extra 13 million child marriages over the next decade.
Federal moratoriums on evictions will expire at the beginning of the year, but a new bill introduced today may help The holiday season is supposed to be a time when families gather together to exchange gifts and appreciation. But this year’s holiday season has already […]
The post Evictions looming for millions in the new year without further protections appeared first on The New York Beacon.
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden announced key nominations and appointments of his health team, including Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General; Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser to […]
The post President-Elect Joe Biden Announces Key Members of Health Team appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.
By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's government says its security forces shot at and detained United Nations staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled Tigray region. Senior official Redwan Hussein told reporters that the U.N. staffers were to blame because they 'broke' two checkpoints to go to areas where 'they were not supposed to go.' He said the staffers have since been released. The shooting occurred amid soaring frustration among humanitarians as aid is still not freely reaching the Tigray region more than a week after the U.N. and Ethiopia's government signed a […]
The post Ethiopia's forces shoot at, detain UN staffers in Tigray appeared first on Black News Channel.
UN says most of the troubled region remains ‘inaccessible’ for aid workers amid growing hunger due to ongoing fighting.
In its investigation, TNH obtained information drawn from leaked WHO documents that suggests how some health workers and civil servants profited from response funds; and how, in the rush to scale up a response in an active conflict zone, the WHO paid millions of dollars in inflated per diems to Congolese security forces.
The authors of the draft review commissioned by the UN and NGOs - obtained exclusively by TNH - warn that \"practices implemented during the Ebola response will inevitably have a direct impact on the ability of aid organisations to control corruption within their programmes\".
The UN's emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, acknowledged there had been challenges in the Ebola response - Ituri and North Kivu provinces are relatively remote and located inside an active conflict zone.
In January, David Gressly, the UN's former emergency Ebola response coordinator, told TNH that the attack on the WHO doctor may have been motivated by a desire to divert resources to local health workers.
The outbreak that erupted in North Kivu and Ituri was the first in an active conflict zone, and response operations had to be shut down on numerous occasions because of attacks against clinics and health workers, leading to fresh spikes in Ebola cases and deaths.
BY SILAS NKALA BRITISH MP and former anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain has urged the British government to extend sanctions against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime because of “escalating human rights violations” in the southern African country. Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Hain implored Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to impose more punitive sanctions on key Zimbabwean ministers and security chiefs. “On July 20, highly-respected journalist Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested and denied bail for supporting an anti-corruption protest and faces 10 years in jail,” Hain, a former Labour cabinet minister, said. “Opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume was arrested and youth leader Takunda Madzana abducted and tortured by State security agents on July 26.” Zimbabwe has been under Western sanctions since the 2000 land reform programme that displaced whites from commercial farms and subsequent human rights abuses by the late former President Robert Mugabe in successive elections. The European Union has relaxed its embargo on Harare, but the US has remained steadfast, demanding political and economic reforms from the Zanu PF government for sanctions to be lifted. Mnangagwa has been on a re-engagement drive, but continued rights abuses by his administration, which came to power in November 2017 through a military coup, has frustrated the efforts. Hain added: “As well as rampant corruption, there is a pattern of ongoing human rights violations under cover of the COVID-19 crackdown. “Can the government update its sanctions to cover more Zimbabwe ministers and security chiefs?” Ngarivhume and Chin’ono, whose arrest Hain cited as reasons for beefing up sanctions, were both involved in the organisation of the protest. Both have been charged with incitement to commit public violence and denied bail, to block them from participating in yesterday’s protests. Several other members of opposition parties were abducted with some going into hiding fearing arrest.
[263Chat] President Emmerson Mnangagwa Monday called for peace in the country after weeks of high political and social tensions which has seen the government coming in hard on its critics and opposition leaders.
25,000 Ethiopian refugees have fled the northern Tigray region into neighboring Sudan.
They are fleeing heavy fighting in East Africa’s most populous nation.
Facing heat and hunger, Sudan is struggling to rebuild a refugee camp to house the refugees.
\"This camp is divided into three sectors, an old camp, a middle camp, and this is a new camp. Refugees will be received and registered here in the new camp. The reception will be at the moment of arrival, and they will be transferred and settled in the middle camp.\"
One of the workers said electricity has been installed, but this will take at least 7 to 10 days of hard work to get everything in place.
\"Very remote, this area is remote from the main cities of Sudan, for example Gedaref is so far, and this area is nearest to Amhara region.\"
Fresh unrest in Tigray began when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered military operations in the region in response to an alleged attack on a federal base.
The move comes after months of growing tensions with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
Even those in Africa, well, some of them, marched in support of the rights and cries of the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, what I find problematic is that Africans, especially the South African opposition, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), march for George Floyd and scream black lives matter while they have not protested against African governments’ abuse of their citizens.
And he has been consistent in this: South Africans, especially black xenophobic ones, should not be found shouting and joining the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd protests as charity begins at home.
Malema and even the current ANC government seem not interested in addressing the causes of violent conflict in Africa but find it worthwhile to march for the Black Lives Matter Movement and rights of Black Americans.
Isn’t it time African movements focused on African lives more than American ones precisely because the blacks in the global north have enough technologies, voices, fire power and alliances more than in the global south?
The United Nations Human Rights Council has announced the holding of an \"urgent\" debate on systemic racism and police brutality on Wednesday, June 17, 2020.
The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva said, it will examine the \"current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protests\" this Wednesday.
In a letter to Tichy-Fisslberger obtained by CBS News, Burkina Faso's representative to the U.N. Dieudonné W. Désiré Sougouri called for the debate Friday in the wake of the protests that have spread throughout the world since the death of George Floyd.
\"The tragic events of 25 May in Minneapolis in the U.S. which led to the death of George Floyd led to protests throughout the world against injustice and police brutality that persons of African descent face on a daily basis in many regions of the world,\" Sougouri said.
Several high profile U.N. officials, including Secretary General António Guterres, have denounced racism, while more than 20 senior U.N. officials who are African or of African descent also published a statement titled, \"On the Black Lives Matter Protests and other Mass Demonstrations against Systemic Racism and Police Brutality.\"
