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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.
[New Zimbabwe] Villagers in Sese, Chivi Central in Masvingo province have given local mining giant, RZM Murowa, better known as Murowa Diamonds an ultimatum to leave the area accusing the company of neglecting the community's concerns.
The Angolan Civil War, beginning at the time of the countrys independence from Portugal in 1975, was a 27-year struggle involving the deaths of over 500,000 soldiers and civilians. Initiated at the height of the Cold War, pro- and anti-communist forces in Angola set the stage for a proxy fight between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Though the fighting officially ended in 2002, Angola remains in economic and social turmoil with a massive refugee crisis and millions of landmines impeding farming practices.
Rich in diamonds and oil, Angola was one of the last African nations to receive independence from a European power. On April 25, 1974, a Portuguese military coup d’état protesting the country’s colonial practices successfully overthrew the regime. The combined forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) created a transitional government with the Alvor Accord of 1974.
Within a year the government had disintegrated, and with aid from the USSR and the Cuban military, the Marxist-oriented MPLA under the leadership of José dos Santos had wrested control of most of Angola. Indirectly and through proxies, governments from the United States, Brazil and South Africa funded UNITA, providing munitions, intelligence reports, and mercenaries.
Heavy fighting continued until 1991 when a temporary agreement known as the Bicesse Accords was reached. Calling for an immediate ceasefire and the removal of both Cuban and South African troops, the agreement mandated a new national government and army, along with Angola’s first multi-party elections. A year later, MPLA candidate José dos Santos won 49% of the popular vote in the election compared to 40% for UNITA candidate Dr. Jonas Savimbi. When Savimbi disputed the outcome, UNITA resumed guerilla war against the MPLA.
In 1993 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 864 placing
Zweli Mkhize has delivered a solemn message on Tuesday, as several key strategies to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 in Mzansi were made public.
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.
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.
By Danica Kirka
The Associated Press
Nations around the world have watched in horror at the five days of civil unrest in the United States following the death of a Black man being detained by police.
Burning cars and riot police in the U.S. featured on newspaper front pages around the globe May 31—bumping news of the COVID-19 pandemic to second-tier status in some places.
Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper on Sunday carried the sensational headline “This killer-cop set America ablaze” with an arrow pointing to a photo of now-fired police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
In Italy, the Corriere della Sera newspaper’s senior U.S. correspondent Massimo Gaggi wrote that the reaction to Floyd’s killing was “different” than previous cases of Black Americans killed by police and the ensuring violence.
In another expression of solidarity with American protesters, about 150 people marched through central Jerusalem on May 30 to protest the shooting death by Israeli police of an unarmed, autistic Palestinian man earlier in the day.
June 14: Djibouti hosts Somali – Somaliland summit
\tDjibouti president said it was time for a rebirth of the Somali nation as leaders of Somalia and Somaliland met in Djibouti city on Sunday.
Omar Guelleh tasked the leaders to think beyond today and for the future of the nation as it gears up to mark 60th independence anniversary.
Guelleh’s opening speech
\tExcellencies, Heads of States and Governments
Distinguished guests,
\tIt gives me great pleasure to be here with you today to restart the discussions between two brotherly leaders, two somali leaders.
Djibouti president confirms Farmaajo – Bihi meeting, Abiy invited
\tDjibouti president Ismail Omar Guelleh has confirmed the meeting between Somalia and Somaliland leaders.
Somalia, Somaliland leaders to meet in Djibouti next week
\tPresident Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo of Somalia will meet with Somaliland leader Muse Bihi next week in neighbouring Djibouti, multiple sources have confirmed.
[UN News] National elections in Libya will take place on 24 December 2021, Stephanie Williams, the head of the UN mission in the country, announced on Friday during a virtual press conference.
There have been 1 245 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 752 269.
It's been a year since the earliest-known COVID-19 transmission took place - and looking back at the first news reports on the virus is a haunting exercise.
[Nation] Battle lines have been drawn between a team of politicians supporting Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and another one opposing the report in Tharaka Nithi County.
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,
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.
[New Times] Rwanda Workers' Trade Unions Confederation is assessing the possibility of establishing a 'Job Loss and Unemployment Benefit Scheme' that will be providing direct support to employees who lose their jobs.
In recent weeks, the appointment of military personnel to key positions such as defence or at the head of territorial administrative regions has aroused the anger of community unions.
We talk about it in our Interview section with our guest Niagalé Bagayoko, a political scientist, specialist in security issues in French-speaking Africa.
… them. “Communities of color and African-American communities have never gotten the … Make the Wounded Whole: The African American Struggle against HIV/AIDS …
… , she would be the first African American to lead the CEA. NPR … she would be the first African American to head the council.
GARCIA … is - a couple of African Americans, a lot of women. Again …
Since the beginning of the pandemic, New York City residents have fled t o Kingston, creating one of the country’s hottest housing markets. The city’s less affluent residents have been collateral damage as affordable housing dries up.
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.
It has been widely reported that up to 50 Black British people are at risk of deportation on a flight to Jamaica tomorrow. In the midst of all the headlines, the people whose lives could massively change tomorrow are sometimes overlooked. Movement for Justice, a campaign group is in touch with a number of them. They have sent us information about them, and we wanted to share it with you here.
[RFI] Ethiopia's army captured the town of Alamata, in southern Tigray, 115 kilometres from the regional capital Mekelle, according to a statement on Monday by the Ethiopian government, as a conflict between the federal government and Tigray region continues to escalate.
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
[Nation] The Ethiopian government on Monday refuted claims of planned talks with the Tigray People's Liberation Front, mediated by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala.
[RFI] France is to host a flagship pan-African event in December designed to break down negative stereotypes of Africa and its people. Announced in a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, the Africa2020 Season will bring together change makers from the continent to \"tell their own story\".
• Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce risk of...
The post New short film released by the Government shows how coronavirus lingers in enclosed spaces and how to keep your home ventilated appeared first on Voice Online.
To put it simply, COVID-19 won't just disappear any time soon. Here are the neighbourhoods and sub-districts that have been branded 'virus hot-spots'.
President Cyril Ramaphosa showed his support for a South African restaurant on the Steenberg Vineyards this past weekend.
Can the Peach State wrestle Senate control from the GOP?
Continue reading on ZORA »
[The Conversation Africa] In July 2009, a woman brought her husband to the hospital where our colleagues work in western Kenya. She reported that for several years he had been behaving abnormally, sleeping poorly, hearing voices that no one else could hear, and believing that people were talking about him and plotting to harm him.
