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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.
In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.
Ndayishimiye was hurriedly sworn in after the untimely death of president Pierre Nkurunziza in June.
Rights violations continue
The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.
A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.
The country was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when Ndayishimiye’s predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term, which he ultimately won in July 2015.
His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.
Hundreds of people were killed and over 300,000 fled to neighboring countries.
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Addis Ababa -- Hundreds of unaccompanied child refugees vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, aid agencies warn
The Battle of Adwa and the Victory of Adwa Centenary Medal
The Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II united to defeat an invading force of Italian troops, was one of the most significant turning points in the history of modern Africa. It occurred, in 1896, when the “colonial era” was well advanced on the African continent, and it served notice that Africa was not just there “for the taking” by European powers. More than this, it marked the entry of Ethiopia into the modern community of nations: Menelik’s victory over the Italians caused the other major European states, and Italy itself, to recognise Ethiopia as a sovereign, independent state in the context of modern statecraft.
The actual battle which took place on March 1 and 2, 1896, at Adwa, the principal market town of the North of Ethiopia, had been precipitated by the great rush of the European powers to colonise Africa. Italy and Germany had lagged behind other European powers — most notably France and Britain — in seizing large parcels of the Continent to colonise. Thus, the Conference of Berlin was convened in 1884-85 to “divide up” the remainder of Africa among the other European powers, anxious to obtain their own African colonies to satisfy the urge for imperial expansion and economic gain. Italy was “awarded” Ethiopia; all that remained was for Italian troops to take possession.
Significantly, until this time, Ethiopia had been left alone by the European powers. Its coastal littoral was well-known to traders, but the heartland in the highlands was peopled by nations notoriously unwilling to accept and embrace external contact and influence. But the Ethiopian nations had been known in the past to be fractious and divided, and from all accounts, Italy’s leaders expected a rapid conquest of the individual national leaders. Britain had, in 1868, waged a successful war against Emperor Téwodros II (Theodore), leading to his death. The Italians, however, failed to recognise that Emperor Menelik II had re-shaped Ethiopia
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Following the latest U.S. announcement of visa restrictions for \"any current or former\" Ethiopian, Eritrean officials \"responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray,\" the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has responded to the decision by the United States stating it as a continuation to exerting undue pressure on Ethiopia.
75 Military police officers from a peacekeeping mission in Sudan received at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport [Courtesy]. After being away from her family for about two years, Senior Private Hildah Makandi is happy to be back home. Makandi was among the 75 troops from Military Police Company who were deployed…
[The Conversation Africa] Ethiopia is holding parliamentary elections at a time of immense domestic turmoil and foreign pressure. This is due to, in particular, the Tigray conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and other ethnic-based violence.
Opinion - One million people have been driven from their homes by armed groups in Burkina Faso. The international community must address the world's fastest-growing displacement crisis, writes OCHA's Ramesh Rajasingham.
By CARA ANNA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Up to 200,000 refugees could pour into Sudan while fleeing the deadly conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, officials said Wednesday, while the first details are emerging of largely cut-off civilians under growing strain. Nearly 10,000 people have crossed the border, including some wounded in the fighting, and the flow is growing quickly. 'There are lots of children and women,' Al-Sir Khalid, the head of the refugee agency in Sudan's Kassala province, told The Associated Press. 'They are arriving very tired and exhausted. They are hungry and thirsty […]
The post Sudan braces for up to 200,000 fleeing Ethiopia fighting appeared first on Black News Channel.
[Addis Fortune] For Grave Rights Concerns, Truth Should not be Casualty of Conflict
[HRW] Nairobi -- UN Should Urgently Investigate Atrocities by All Parties
[DW] Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the government will launch more military attacks on the Tigray region. His announcement comes amid international calls for an end to hostilities.
Today is the 343rd day of 2020. There are 23 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1995: The World Health Organization announces that a new case of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the Ivory Coast. Ebola killed 250 in Zaire earlier in 1995.�OTHER EVENTS1776: George Washington's retreating army crosses the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.
[Nation] More than 60 rights organisations in Africa have called for an immediate inquiry into allegations of violation against women and girls' rights including sexual violence in the Tigray region, Ethiopia.
UN says most of the troubled region remains ‘inaccessible’ for aid workers amid growing hunger due to ongoing fighting.
The European Union has postponed nearly €90m ($110m; £81m) in budget support payments to Ethiopia due to concerns over the crisis in the Tigray region. European Commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero-Hernandez told the BBC there were five conditions for the aid to be resumed: Granting full humanitarian access for aid workers to reach people in need in all affected areas Allowing civilians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries Ethnically targeted measures and hate speech must stop Mechanisms to monitor, and investigate allegations of, human rights violations Communication lines and media access to Tigray should be fully re-established. She said the decision 'does not affect EU humanitarian programmes on the ground or other development actions'. Government forces have been battling Tigray fighters since 4 November. Hundreds, even thousands, of people are thought to have been killed in the conflict, while about 50,000 have fled to neighbouring Sudan.- BBC
[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.
[HRW] Kinshasa -- Trial Progress Slow Four Years after Killing of Michael Sharp, Zaida Catalán
[Dalsan Radio] Somalia's new foreign minister, Mohamed Abdirqzak, has for the first time responded to the ongoing war in Ethiopia.
May 21, 2021 (GADAREF) - Ethiopia has deployed troops in the Qatarand settlement inside the Al-Fashaqa border area of Gedaref State, Sudanese (...)
[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\"
… ranked choice option, is close. African American contender Alvin Bragg enjoys a … for drug sales, lost to African-American City Council member Malik Evans … and Stella Artist, BRW celebrates African American, African and Caribbean culinary traditions …
Aid agencies fear the fighting - which has reportedly killed thousands and displaced many thousands more - could tip the Tigray region into catastrophe.
Ambassador Sue Katherine Brown is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. In 2011 President Barack Obama nominated her to become the U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro, the first African American to hold this post and only the second U.S. ambassador since Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia on June 3, 2006. Brown’s nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and she presented her credentials to the President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovi?, on Thursday, May 12, 2011.
A native of Houston, Texas, Brown joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1980. Ambassador Brown worked in various capacities at the U.S. State Department between 1980 and her ambassadorial appointment in 2011. Her other overseas postings include France, Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Côte dIvoire. Additionally while she served in Indonesia she helped coordinate U.S. aid efforts in response to severe flooding on some of the nation’s islands.
Ambassador Brown also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Accra, Ghana and Asmara, Eritrea. While serving in Accra, Ghana as Embassy Chargé d’Affaires (second in command) from 2006 to 2009, she was credited with leading a public service campaign that saved a number of young Ghanaian girls from sex trafficking.
In 2009 she became office director for Southern African Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department. She held this post until receiving her ambassador assignment.
While serving as ambassador Brown oversaw U.S. assistance efforts in response to two natural disasters. In February 2012 she coordinated with the government of Montenegro, the work of the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Podgorica, Montenegro. These soldiers were part of a larger U.S. task force providing humanitarian assistance at the request of the government of Montenegro after record snowfalls left tens of thousands in the country’s mountainous north cut off and unable to receive food, fuel, or medical
