FOCUS on Extended Violence: Ethiopia
Eritrean troops are still in Tigray. Many residents state that Eritrean soldiers continue to loot, arrest, and kill civilians long after the ceasefire.
Read more
Ethiopia
Ethiopia and Tigray Come to Agreement on Humanitarian Aid
The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front came to an agreement to provide humanitarian access to the Tigray Region on November 12, after a two-year-long war, reports The Guardian.
Read more
Tigrayan Rebels Open to Peace Talks With Ethiopian Government
On September 11, Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels announced that they are willing to participate in peace talks headed by the African Union (AU), reports Al Jazeera. This announcement comes after fighting resumed between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in August.
Read more
Ethiopian Government Declares Humanitarian Ceasefire in Tigray
Ethiopian and Tigrayan leaders have agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire to halt the civil conflict that has raged in the country’s northern Tigray region for over a year. The United Nations and other international actors are hopeful that the cessation of fighting will allow for humanitarian aid to the region. Reuters reports that the ceasefire comes at a time when “more than 90 percent of the 5.5 million Tigrayans need food aid,” despite Ethiopian authorities affirming that aid deliveries have never been impeded.
Read more
Cold War Policy Tactics Doom Yet Another Developing Nation
“We will bury this enemy with our blood and bones” is hardly a statement one might anticipate hearing from a Nobel Peace Prize winner, but Abiy Ahmed’s tenure as Prime Minister of Ethiopia has been far from what anyone has anticipated. On October 31, Ahmed sounded the alarm of a near state collapse when he urged citizens to take up arms and brace for a battle over the capital of Africa’s second most populous country, reports The New York Times. Now, with almost every global power keen on remaining influential in Africa, many remain baffled as to why the world has remained largely indifferent towards Africa’s second most populous nation.
Read more
FOCUS on Global Pariahs: Abiy Ahmed
In 2019, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize for ending a prolonged war against the neighboring nation of Eritrea. Today, however, Ethiopia is in civil strife and Abiy finds himself on the brink of losing his political legitimacy.
Read more
Tigray Conflict Escalates Amid New Offensive and Famine Warnings
Ethiopian troops have launched a new offensive to regain control of the restive Tigray region from ethnic separatists. According to The New York Times, the October offensive comes as a result of months of planning and has seen the use of airstrikes and foreign-made drones made in China, Iran, and Turkey. Government forces are also enlisting the help of anti-Tigrayan militias, although troops from neighboring Eritrea are currently uninvolved.
Read more
Humanitarian Aid Blockades in Tigray Worsen Fragile Conditions
Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis has wreaked havoc on the nation, and new reports suggest that the conflict will only continue to get worse in the coming months. BBC News says that fighting between government and Tigray forces has led to roadblocks on key transport routes, resulting in a humanitarian aid blockade and rendering aid distribution to the region nearly impossible.
Read moreWorld Food Program to “Scale Up” Efforts in Tigray Region
UN officials, the High Commission for Refugees, the World Food Programme, and the Ethiopian government have agreed to expand access to humanitarian relief and ”scale up” efforts to reduce food insecurities in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region, according to a statement by the World Food Programme (WFP). VOA reports that this agreement comes after the UN criticized Ethiopian authorities for blocking humanitarian aid from reaching the state’s rural population.
Read more
Leader of Ethiopian Tigray Region Fires Missiles at Eritrean City
The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray region confirmed the firing of missiles at Eritrea’s capital city of Asmara, reports the Associated Press. This event marks an escalation in the violent conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the government of the Tigray region, which has seemingly become an international armed conflict.
Read more