Ethiopian doctors based in the capital, Bahir Dar, in the Amhara region, have reported that a significant number of civilians have lost their lives in recent clashes between local militias and government forces, as conveyed to the BBC.
A physician at the primary hospital in the city reported that the casualties encompassed not only adults but also included elderly individuals and a five-month-old infant.
Local residents recounted that a militia had seized control of a prison facility, resulting in the release of inmates.
Tensions have escalated since April, following the government’s announcement of dismantling regional forces throughout Ethiopia. This move sparked protests among Amhara nationalists, who argued that it would weaken their region.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government noted relative tranquility in certain parts of the region, while actions were being taken to disband militias in the two largest cities, Bahir Dar and Gondar.
As a response to the situation, Ethiopian Airlines has declared the suspension of flights to four airports in the region, including Bahirdar and Gondar, for a duration of three days.
Residents of the two largest cities in the Amhara region ofEthiopia—the state capital Bahir Dar and the famed Gondar—have said that, fierce fighting between local militias and government forces has resumed on Tuesday and that the violence is showing no signs of stopping.
Residents report that heavy armament has been fired during the clashes, creating worries for the safety of citizens. Residents in Bahir Dar reported that the state-run radio station has ceased broadcasting.
In addition, fighting has persisted in Debrebirhan, an industrial city 130 km (80 miles) north of Addis Abeba, where locals have reported seeing hovering drones.
Although activists associated with the militias assert that they are in control of several small towns and villages.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom, the Ethiopian leader of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has voiced worries about the violence that is still occurring.
Dr. Tedros posted on his social media pages that communication was difficult because of the internet outage and that access to humanitarian aid was difficult because of the blocked roads.
A journalist was recently detained in Addis Ababa, where arrests have reportedly continued to occur. The founder of Alpha Media, Bekal Alamirew, was also detained during the Tigray war last year.
Ethiopia’s cabinet has reached a consensus to declare a state of emergency in Amhara after days of clashes between local militias and the army in the restive area.
This decision comes shortly after Yilkal Kefale, the head of the Amhara region, urged the federal government to step in, citing the challenge of maintaining security through regular law enforcement methods.
Local militias, known as the Fano, reportedly have gained control over various towns, villages, and even some larger cities within the region.
Flights have been halted to at least two cities in the affected area, and mobile data services have been suspended.
The prime minister’s office released a statement stating that the region’s constitutional order was at risk, justifying the need for the declaration of a state of emergency.
However, the decision is pending approval by the parliament in order to become effective.
The highest governing body of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has taken a strong stance against Tigrayan clergy involved in the appointment of six bishops, leading to condemnation and ex-communication. This incident highlights an escalating division within the church concerning its response to the Tigray civil war, which concluded in November after two years of conflict.
During a ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Aksum, the Tigray Orthodox Tewahedo Church ordained six bishops, prompting the Ethiopia Holy Synod to revoke their priestly authority. The synod declared that these bishops should be referred to by their secular names and denied any spiritual services both in their lifetime and after their death.
The synod deemed the appointment of these bishops as illegal and a violation of religious principles and laws, emphasizing that the decision has significant consequences. It has led to divisions within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, conflicts among believers, and disturbances in the peace.
In response, the Tigray bishops have rejected the Ethiopian Synod’s decision, considering it futile condemnation and unacceptable. The synod, however, has extended an offer for reconciliation, stating that the Tigray priests could be welcomed back if they repent and apologize for the violation of the canon.
The tensions between the Tigrayan clergy and the Ethiopian Synod began earlier when the Tigrayan bishops announced their intention to establish their own church, expressing dissatisfaction with the synod’s failure to condemn the fighting and provide adequate support to the faithful during the civil war.
While the church leadership issued an apology to the people of Tigray regarding the civil war, it seems that the apology has not been sufficient to mend the rift, leading to this latest episode of condemnation and ex-communication.
Ongoing fighting between local militias and government troops in Ethiopia’s Amhara region continues to be reported, with clashes occurring in various areas.
Notably, the outskirts of Gondar, one of the region’s largest cities, have become a battleground, leading to disruptions in transport services, especially around the city’s airport.
Mobile data services have also been disrupted in major cities and towns within the Amhara region, including the capital, Bahir Dar. In Lalibela, home to famous rock-hewn churches, militias have taken control of the airport, causing disturbances in flight operations.
Protesters supporting local militias, known as the Fano, have been seen using roadblocks made of rocks and trees to hinder the movement of the army. Reports from media outlets and activists associated with the group suggest that they have gained control of several towns and villages, although these claims have not been independently confirmed by the BBC.
Additional reports indicate that prisons and police stations have been broken into in some towns, adding to the escalating tensions in the region.
In response to the situation, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen expressed concern, calling the recent developments “alarming.”
The Amhara region has been experiencing underlying tensions and sporadic clashes since authorities announced the disbandment of a state-backed paramilitary group. Critics of this move feared it would leave the region vulnerable to attacks, exacerbating the already volatile situation.
Ethiopia’s Amhara region is witnessing renewed fighting between the army and local militias in multiple areas.
The security situation in Amhara has been deteriorating since April, following the decision to disband the region’s state-backed paramilitary group. While some paramilitary members were integrated into the army and police, others are believed to have joined local militias that now feel Amhara is vulnerable to attacks from other regions.
Clashes on Tuesday led to flight cancellations in the historic town of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with residents describing the violence as “intense.”
Reports suggest that Amhara militias, known as Fano, have taken control of the airport, though this has not been independently verified.
Fighting has also been reported in at least four other towns, with some residents describing the clashes as “heavy.” Protesters have been seen blocking roads to restrict the movement of troops.
The army has confirmed its engagement in an offensive against armed groups in Amhara.
The Amhara Association of America (AAA), an advocacy group, has expressed concern for the safety of civilians and confirmed clashes in several areas.
Yilkal Kefale, the president of the region, stated that his office is open to resolving issues through dialogue.
Authorities in the western Ethiopian region of Gambella have imposed a night-time curfew.
The curfew which restricts movement between 19:00 and 06:00 has been imposed in response to the recent outbreak of violence that resulted in numerous fatalities.
While the regional government has not released specific casualty figures, it issued a statement promising to hold accountable those “members of the leadership” who were involved in the disturbance of peace.
Local media reports indicate that the violence, which has ethnic dimensions, started earlier this week and led to clashes in at least two areas. As a result, businesses and offices in the regional capital, Gambella city, remained closed on Wednesday.
Gambella, which shares a border with South Sudan, has experienced recurring violence in recent months. In May, there were reports of at least seven people killed and more than a dozen wounded in clashes in Gambella city.
Additionally, last year, the city faced a raid by rebel fighters from the neighboring Oromia region, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people.
A significant tree-planting campaign is set to involve millions of Ethiopians, as authorities aim to plant half a billion seedlings within a 12-hour period. However, ongoing violence in certain areas could potentially hinder widespread participation.
This initiative is part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s “green legacy” project, which has already witnessed similar campaigns during the country’s main rainy seasons over the past four years.
Back in 2019, the government claimed that 350 million seedlings were planted in a single day, although this figure has not been independently verified. Authorities at the time stated that over 20 million individuals actively participated in the campaign.
Concerns have been raised by some regarding the accuracy and credibility of these reported numbers.
In a statement released on Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy said the objective this year is “to break [a] record”. But it’s not clear if the country is applying to get verification and recognition from the Guinness World Records.
According to Guinness, more than 50 million trees were planted in a single day in 2016 in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ethiopia, once a densely forested country with 35% of its total land area covered in trees in the early 20th Century, saw that figure plummet to a little above 4% in the 2000s according to the United Nations.
Ethiopia and Egypt have reached an agreement to restart negotiations concerning the controversial hydroelectric mega-dam being constructed by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile river.
The nearing completion of the dam has caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries, with Egypt expressing concerns about potential impacts on its vital water supplies, while Ethiopia sees it as a crucial component of its plan to provide electricity to millions of households.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi met in Cairo, where they agreed to engage in talks specifically regarding the filling of the dam’s reservoir.
They also aimed to finalize their agreements within four months, as stated in a joint statement from the Ethiopian prime minister’s office.
The dam’s reservoir has been gradually filled during the past three rainy seasons while the dam wall was being constructed. Egypt and Sudan, as downstream countries, objected to this action since it occurred without a binding agreement among all three nations.
The decision to resume talks has received commendation from the African Union. Construction of the dam began in 2011 and was initially projected to be completed within six years.
The Tigrayan people have received an apology from the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for their part in the terrible conflict that raged there.
They synod apologized in a statement issued on Thursday for failing to protect the security of church leaders and members throughout the crisis.
The church has come under fire for failing to denounce the bloody conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The Tigray bishops even stated earlier this year that they intended to create a separate church from the synod.
The Holy Synod has been actively working toward reconciliation with the Orthodox authorities in Tigray ever since the war came to an end in late 2022. They have officially apologized for delaying the distribution of aid after the conflict.
While some see this as a beginning in the right direction, a Tigray bishop condemned the apology, claiming that it fails to adequately acknowledge the scope of the wrongs perpetrated.
His Holiness Abune Matthias continues to be recognized by the church as the patriarch, and any intentions to elect a new patriarch have been refuted.
The recent killing of a security chief in a town within Ethiopia’s Amhara region has led to the implementation of a night-time curfew and heightened tensions in the area.
The security situation in Amhara has been deteriorating since April, following the decision to dissolve the region’s paramilitary group.
The government’s efforts to bring the state’s special forces under the control of the military and police have sparked deadly anti-government protests in Amhara.
In response to the escalating violence, a curfew has been imposed in Shewa Robit town after the head of the local security department, Abdu Hussein, was fatally shot by unidentified attackers on Tuesday. This incident marks the third targeted killing within Amhara in as many days, as both a police chief and a security head in another district were previously gunned down.
The authorities in Shewa Robit, situated approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, have implemented restrictions on the movement of individuals and vehicles after 18:00 local time.
The Amhara special forces played a significant role in assisting the Ethiopian army during the conflict with Tigrayan fighters who rebelled against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government in 2020. The conflict concluded in November of the same year with the signing of a peace agreement.
In response to a recent BBC report, the Refugee and Returnees Service (RRS) in Ethiopia has addressed the issue of birth certificates not being issued to new-born babies born to Eritrean refugee parents.
The parents have expressed their concerns that this situation is obstructing the process of family reunification.
The RRS called the claims “a baseless allegation”.
“Registration is going on since November 2022 and 2,149 Eritrean children are registered,” it said in a statement.
However, the statement from the Refugee and Returnees Service (RRS) did not clarify whether they are currently issuing the birth certificate documents that the families require.
A man residing in Germany shared with the BBC that he has been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to reunite with his wife and children.
The issuance of birth certificates is a necessary requirement by the German embassy in order to proceed with visa applications for the babies.
“I have seen the response from RRS. Our problem is not registration – what we need is the birth certificate document which the German embassy is requesting,” one father said.
Another said: “Our wives have been going to the RRS offices many times for months asking for the birth certificate but still we are waiting despite repeated promises.”
As refugees continue to pour across its border in large numbers, Ethiopia says it is concerned about the unrest spreading outside of Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum.
There was now “worrying” fighting involving a rebel group in South Kordofan state, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Meles Alem.
According to the UN, more than 50,000 people have crossed borders into Ethiopia since the conflict began in April between the Sudan’s army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Last week, the army accused SPLM-North, a powerful rebel group with ties in neighbouring South Sudan and that controls areas in the South Kordofan state, of launching attacks.
With tensions escalating around the state’s capital Kadugli, many have fled the state. Violence has also been reported in Blue Nile state bordering Ethiopia.
The UN had said the the recent violence in Kurmuk locality of the Blue Nile was gravely concerning.
Mr Meles also mentioned the clashes in West Darfur, where the conflict has inflamed already fraught ethnic tensions between Arab and African communities similar to the violence that erupted two decades ago.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Meles Alem, has formally sought to join the Brics allianceand is “hoping for a positive response”.
Brics – which is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is seen by some as an alternative to the G7 group of developed nations.
Ethiopia is one of the biggest economies in Africa and has enjoyed an increase in trade with China and India among others, but its economy has recently been ravaged by war and drought.
Earlier this month, the Brics group said they had received requests from dozens of countries, including a few African states, that wished to join the club of emerging economies.
Brics countries have a combined population of more than 3.2 billion people, making up about 40% of the world’s roughly eight billion people.
Some 80 followers of a cult in eastern Uganda who travelled to Ethiopia in February at the call of a pastor to find salvation by fasting to death have been repatriated, the Ugandan authorities said on Tuesday.
The Church of Christ Disciples had travelled to Ethiopia after their pastor, Simon Opolot, said they would find Jesus after 40 days of fasting.
“Working with the Ethiopian government, we were able to organize their repatriation, and they are all safe and sound in Uganda,” Simon Mundeyi, spokesman for the Ugandan Ministry of Internal Affairs, told AFP.
He added that the pastor had not yet been arrested. “He has been put on the wanted list and will be apprehended,” he said.
Mr Mundeyi also said that the followers, from the Soroti region, about 300 kilometers north-east of the capital Kampala, had sold all their possessions on the grounds that the end of the world was near.
“But the Ethiopian authorities learned of their arrival in the country, recovered them and confined them until their repatriation documents were ready”, added Simon Mundeyi.
In 2000, more than 700 followers of the “Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God” sect of Protestant origin died in Uganda, an African country in the Great Lakes region, either in mass suicide ceremonies or killed by the sect’s leaders.
Some 300 followers burned to death in their church, which was barricaded from the outside, in Kanungu, in the south-west of the country, while the police exhumed the bodies of 400 people, mainly women and children, piled up in mass graves.
In neighboring Kenya, more than 250 people have been found dead so far since April in the Shakahola forest, near the coast, where followers of an evangelical sect advocating extreme fasting to “meet Jesus” were meeting.
The leader of the cult, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver who proclaimed himself a pastor, was arrested and is being prosecuted for “terrorism”.
Eritrea has re-joined the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), the regional organization for East Africa after 16 years of absence.
Information Minister Yemane Meskel tweeted on Monday that Eritrea “resumed its activity” and took its seat at the ongoing Igad summit in neighbouring Djibouti.
The regional grouping’s executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, said he was “delighted to welcome Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh” as he joined the meeting.
Eritrea suspended its membership of the body in 2007 in protest against Ethiopia’s military intervention in Somalia and alleged manipulation of the organisation by external forces.
Igad is made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has stated that it is suspending food aid to all of Ethiopia, a month after suspending help to the war-torn Tigray area due to unlawful diversions.
The agency on Thursday cited “a widespread and coordinated campaign” to divert aid from those in need as the reason for the suspension in Ethiopia, which has grappled with rampant hunger amid civil war and drought.
“We made the difficult but necessary decision that we cannot move forward with distribution of food assistance until reforms are in place,” said a statement by a spokesperson for the US government’s main international aid agency.
“Our intention is to immediately resume food assistance once we are confident in the integrity of delivery systems to get assistance to its intended recipients,” the statement added.
The statement did not say who was behind the diversions, but in a separate statement released hours late by the US Embassy in Ethiopia, both governments said they were conducting “investigations so that the perpetrators of such diversions are held to account.”
“The two governments commit to collaborate toward an efficient aid distribution system in Ethiopia, which would safeguard assistance from diversion,” it said.
The pause comes after USAID and the World Food Programme froze food aid to the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, where war between regional forces and Ethiopia’s government broke out in November 2020. The two sides agreed to a truce in November last year. The agencies cited the diversion of aid shipments to local markets as the reason for the suspension.
On Thursday, The Washington Post newspaper cited a report by the Humanitarian Resilience Development Donor Group, which it described as an organization of donors briefed by USAID, that identified “a coordinated and criminal scheme” to divert the aid.
The report said the “scheme appears to be orchestrated by federal and regional Government of Ethiopia (GoE) entities, with military units across the country benefitting from humanitarian assistance” and that “significant diversions” had been documented in seven of Ethiopia’s nine regions, according to the Post.
On Thursday, top US diplomat Antony Blinken met with his Ethiopian counterpart, Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, during a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken “welcomed the Ethiopian government’s commitment to work together to conduct a full investigation into the diversion of US food assistance and to hold accountable those found responsible”.
According to the World Food Programme, more than 20 million people across Ethiopia are in need of food assistance. In fiscal year 2022, USAID distributed $1.5bn to the country, most of it in food aid.
Buckingham Palace has rejected a request to repatriate the remains of Prince Alemayehu, an Ethiopian prince who was laid to rest at Windsor Castle in the 19th century.
At the age of seven, Prince Alemayehu was brought to the UK as an orphan after his mother passed away during the journey.
Queen Victoria took a personal interest in him and arranged for his education, eventually organizing his burial at Windsor Castle when he tragically passed away at the age of 18.
However, his family has now expressed a desire for his remains to be returned to Ethiopia.
“We want his remains back as a family and as Ethiopians because that is not the country he was born in,” one of the royal descendants Fasil Minas told the BBC.
“It was not right” for him to be buried in the UK, he added.
But in a statement sent to the BBC, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said removing his remains could affect others buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
“It is very unlikely that it would be possible to exhume the remains without disturbing the resting place of a substantial number of others in the vicinity,” the palace said.
The statement added that the authorities at the chapel were sensitive to the need to honour Prince Alemayehu’s memory, but that they also had “the responsibility to preserve the dignity of the departed”.
It also said that in the past the Royal Household had “accommodated requests from Ethiopian delegations to visit” the chapel.
Image caption,Prince Alemayehu lived in exile for a decade
The circumstances leading to Prince Alemayehu’s arrival in the UK at such a young age were a result of imperial actions and diplomatic failures.
In 1862, Emperor Tewodros II, the prince’s father, sought to forge an alliance with the UK in an effort to strengthen his empire. However, his letters requesting an audience with Queen Victoria went unanswered, leaving him frustrated and disillusioned.
Driven by anger and impatience, the emperor took matters into his own hands by holding several Europeans, including the British consul, as hostages.
This bold move triggered a massive military expedition, comprising approximately 13,000 British and Indian troops, with the objective of rescuing the captives. Remarkably, an official from the British Museum was also part of this force.
In April 1868, the expedition laid siege to Emperor Tewodros’ mountain fortress at Maqdala, located in northern Ethiopia. Overwhelming the defenses within a matter of hours, the British forces successfully overpowered the stronghold.
The emperor decided he would rather take his own life than be a prisoner of the British, an action that turned him into a heroic figure among his people.
Image caption,A 19th Century engraver imagined the scene when the soldiers discovered Emperor Tewodros II’s body
After the battle, the British plundered thousands of cultural and religious artefacts. These included gold crowns, manuscripts, necklaces and dresses.
Historians say dozens of elephants and hundreds of mules were needed to cart away the treasures, which are today scattered across European museums and libraries, as well as in private collections.
The British also took away Prince Alemayehu and his mother, Empress Tiruwork Wube.
The British may have thought this was to keep them safe and prevent them being captured and possibly killed by Tewodros’ enemies, who were near Maqdala, according to Andrew Heavens, whose book The Prince and the Plunder recounts Alemayehu’s life.
Following his arrival in Britain in June 1868, the prince’s predicament and his status as an orphan elicited the sympathy of Queen Victoria. The two met at the queen’s holiday home on the Isle of Wight, just off England’s south coast.
She agreed to support him financially and put him in the guardianship of Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy, the man who had accompanied the prince from Ethiopia.
Image caption,Captain Speedy became Prince Alemayehu’s guardian
They first lived together on the Isle of Wight and then Captain Speedy took him to other parts of the world, including India.
But it was decided that the prince should have a formal education.
He was sent to the British public school Rugby but he was not happy there. He later moved to the Royal Military College in Sandhurst where he was subjected to bullying.
The prince had a “hankering” to return home, correspondence quoted by Heavens says, but that idea was swiftly quashed.
“I feel for him as if I knew him. He was dislocated from Ethiopia, from Africa, from the land of black people and remained there as if he had no home,” Ethiopian royal descendent Abebech Kasa told the BBC.
Eventually, Alemayehu ended up being tutored in a private home in Leeds. But he became ill, possibly with pneumonia, and at one point refused treatment thinking he had been poisoned.
After a decade in exile the prince died in 1879 at the age of just 18.
His illness had become the subject of articles in the national press and Queen Victoria wrote in her diary of her sadness at his death.
“Very grieved and shocked to hear by telegram, that good Alemayehu had passed away this morning. It is too sad! All alone, in a strange country, without a single person or relative, belonging to him,” she said.
“His was no happy life, full of difficulties of every kind, and was so sensitive, thinking that people stared at him on account of his colour… Everyone is very sorry.”
She then arranged for his burial at Windsor Castle.
Image caption,There are several photographs of Prince Alemayehu including this where he is wearing a hat with the name of the ship, HMS Urgent
Demands that the body should return are not new.
In 2007 the country’s then-President Girma Wolde-Giorgis sent a formal request to Queen Elizabeth II for the body to be sent back, but those efforts proved fruitless.
“We want him back. We don’t want him to remain in a foreign country,” Ms Abebech said.
“He had a sad life. When I think of him I cry. If they agree to return his remains I would think of it as if he came home alive.”
She had hoped that she would get a positive response from newly crowned King Charles III.
“Restitution is used as a way to bring reconciliation, to recognise what was wrong in the past,” says Professor Alula Pankhurst, a specialist in British-Ethiopian relations.
He believes the return of the body would be “a way for Britain to rethink its past. It’s a reflection and coming to terms with an imperial past.”
In order to address the root causes of the region’s instability, the UK struck a deal with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Speaking to the BBC, UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the agreement – worth some $12.5m (£9.9m) – will support the three countries to come up with policies in their fight against terrorism.
This is the first time high-level officials from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have accepted international support to address a common problem along their borders.
These borderlands are usually isolated and insecure, which makes it difficult for countries to monitor threats.
Mr Tugendhat believes that al-Shabab militants conduct terror activities in these areas because there is no governing authority.
The militants have carried out a series of attacks within the region in recent months and the group remains a threat.
The funding from the UK is also aimed at empowering local communities to effectively report suspected terror-related incidents.
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has provided information indicating that the colours used in the Ghana flag originate from Ethiopia.
The late Theodosia Salomey Okoh is credited with creating the recognizable Red-Yellow-Green with Black Star flag of Ghana, therefore whenever her name is spoken, the Ghana flag immediately comes to mind.
The explanations for the choice of colours for the Ghanaian flag are given as the Red- signifying the blood and toil of our fathers who fought for independence for the country.
Gold-being the minerals and other extractive resources, the country can boast of.
Green- signifying the green vegetative cover of the country. Black- is the centre of Hope for the Ghanaian people.
But according to Mr Simons, in 1798, the tricolours (red-gold-green) heraldic banner of the old Abyssinian kings became the triangular pennant flag of the Empire of Ethiopia. At that time, the red was on top and the green was at the bottom.
2/ In fact, Ethiopia itself has changed its flag several times over the course of history. The latest one was *designed* by Abebe Alambo. BUT all the versions take their inspiration from the original Tricolor. Likewise, the "black star" in Ghana's flag was inspired by Garvey. pic.twitter.com/JSAGV05tB7
“The Mighty Menelik II, flush with victory after Adowa, converted the pennant into a rectangular flag in 1897, with the green still at the bottom and red remaining on top.
“But following an interregnum that will see the rises of Ras Tafari (Haile Salassie I) as Negus Nagast (king of kings), we see by 1914 a sudden change of colours. The green has risen to the top and the red demoted!” he wrote.
In Bright Simons’ submission, the reinvented flag by the of the Haile Selassie became known as the ‘pan African’ flag in the era when African leaders such as Nkrumah and the emperor himself, were fighting for a one African state.
“In fact, Ethiopia itself has changed its flag several times over the course of history. The latest one was ‘designed’ by Abebe Alambo. BUT all the versions take their inspiration from the original Tri-colours. Likewise, the “black star” in Ghana’s flag was inspired by Garvey.”
“Ghana, however, reverted to the Menelik design when it also chose the Abyssinian tricolour standard for its national flag,” he added.
He revealed the meaning behind the colours used.
Green represents fertility and natural abundance; Yellow represents hope; Red represents blood of the martyrs and Golden Pentagram stands for unity in diversity.
Authorities in Ethiopia have indicated that the head of the Prosperity Party, which is in power in the country’s Amhara region, and members of his security detail have been shot and killed.
According to a statement released by the communications office of the region, Girma Yeshitla was ambushed approximately 250km (155 miles) north of Addis Ababa while he was on his way back from an official trip, the BBC reported.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called the killing “shameful and horrible” and blamed it on unnamed “violent extremists” who he said chose to settle differences through guns rather than dialogue.
Several weeks following the announcement by the federal government regarding the dissolution of a paramilitary force, which had incited widespread protests and violence in Amhara, the killing occurred.
Mr Girma faced strong criticism from opponents of the force’s dissolution, who saw him as one of the faces behind the move.
The killing of senior politicians is not new in Amhara. In 2019, the regional leader and other top officials were killed in what was described as a failed regional coup attempt.
The leader of the Prosperity Party, which is currently in power in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, has been shot dead along with his security detail.
According to a statement issued by the area’s communications office, Girma Yeshitla was ambushed some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital Addis Abe when he was returning from a business trip.
The assassination was described as “shameful and horrible” by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who blamed it on unidentified “violent extremists” who he claimed preferred to settle disputes with weapons rather than via conversation.
The murder occurred after the federal government declared that a paramilitary group that had incited massive unrest and bloodshed in Amhara would be disbanded.
Mr Girma faced strong criticism from opponents of the force’s dissolution, who saw him as one of the faces behind the move.
The killing of senior politicians is not new in Amhara. In 2019, the regional leader and other top officials were killed in what was described as a failed regional coup attempt.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) remains the subject of ongoing trilateral negotiations, which Ethiopia states it is prepared to resume with Egypt and Sudan.
Mesganu Arga, the state minister for foreign affairs, made the remarks while speaking with Mike Hammer, the US special representative for the Horn of Africa.
“Regarding Gerd, he [Ambassador Mesganu] said Ethiopia is ready to resume the tripartite negotiations under the auspices of the AU,” the ministry posted on Twitter.
According to the 2023International Monetary Fund(IMF) Regional Economic Outlook Report (Sub-Saharan Africa), Ghana’s net international reserves will complete the year 2023 with almost three weeks of import coverage (0.8 month).
Again, the report said Ghana’s reserves stood at a little above two weeks (0.6 month) of import cover in 2022.
This is contrary to the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data that the country’s reserves in 2022 was estimated at 2.7 months of import cover.
The implication is if foreign inflows are to stop today, the country’s economy will be in severe trouble, as there are only few dollars in the reserves for balance of payment transactions.
This makes the IMF bailout ($3 billion loan) critical to the country’s economic stability going forward.
The report also said the country’s reserves is expected to grow to about 1.7 months of import cover in 2024. Ghana’s reserves almost empty; to end 2023 at nearly 3 weeks of import cover – IMF
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe (0.2 month), South Sudan (0.5 month) and Ethiopia (0.6 month) are the only countries expected to record import cover lower thanGhana.
Ghana’s reserves stood at $2.62bn – BoG
The Bank of Ghana in its March 2023 Summary of Economic and Financial Data said Ghana’s net international reserves improved slightly to $2.62 billion, about 2.8 months of import cover in February 2023.
Ethiopia’s state-linked rights watchdog has called for investigations into the killing of civilians and humanitarian workers during recent protests in Amhara region.
The killings were reportedly carried out by security forces and other unknown people
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said that worsening insecurity could lead to abuse of rights and urged security forces against using excessive forces.
Protests in Amhara began last week in opposition to moves by federal authorities to dissolve a regional paramilitary unit.
The government says the unit will be integrated with the army or police to create a unified force, but opponents argue its dissolution could leave the region vulnerable to attacks by neighbours.
Many of the major cities in the region appeared to have returned to normalcy on Wednesday afternoon after days of protests, with businesses and offices reopening.
A resident in the regional capital, Bahirdar, has told the BBC that the reduced protests could be linked to the upcoming Ethiopian Easter to be celebrated this Sunday.
Local media has reported that individuals thought to be security personnel have detained a well-known Ethiopian journalist.
Freelance journalist Dawit Begashaw was allegedly “abducted by security forces” on Wednesday night, according to reports.
The journalist’s current whereabouts are unclear, according to the Mereja website.
According to Mereja, another journalist, Meskerem Abera, was arrested over the weekend.
“In recent months, non-state-affiliated media outlets are coming under relentless attacks as the Ethiopian government moves to stifle critical voices,” the website added.
Media watchdogs accuse Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration of eroding press freedom gains in the country amid ethnic conflicts and a civil war in the north of the country.
Residents of the Ethiopian city of Debrebirhan have told the media that at least two civilians who had sought refuge in a displacement camp have died during clashes there as protests in the nation’s Amhara region grow more violent.
Last week, when Ethiopia’s federal government announced a proposal to disband the Amhara region’s special forces, protests broke out. Locals worry that the change may leave the area vulnerable to attacks.
The revisions are one of the conditions of a peace agreement that the federal government and former rebels from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) agreed last November to put an end to the war.
Residents have told the BBC that Tuesday’s clashes between federal security forces and local militias in Debrebirhan, 130 km north of the capital, Addis Ababa, stayed for hours.
According to one resident, the two individuals killed were sheltered in a camp in the city after fleeing ethnic-based violence in the country’s western Oromia region.
Another resident said protesters raided a police department in the city, vowing to free people detained in connection with a massive anti-government rally on Sunday.
There have been eight different statements from federal and regional authorities since protests began in which they argued the integration of the special forces into the national army or police will strengthen the country’s security apparatus, but the protests have continued.
The unrest was reported in the Amhara capital, Bahirdar, on Tuesday.
In the latest statement, the head of the ruling Prosperity Party’s regional branch blamed the violence on “failure to create awareness”, and said the government was ready to resolve any issues through dialogue.
The success of measures to stop the war in the northern Tigray region, according to the European Union, will determine whether or not relations with the Ethiopian government can be normalized.
After the civil war broke out in November 2020, the EU suspended budgetary support citing human rights abuses.
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said progress on ending the conflict was a rare example of good news in the world today.
But he said the gradual normalisation of relations with Ethiopia was dependent on how the peace process develops.
Earlier this year, EU officials said there had to be accountability for widespread abuses committed during the war in Tigray.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the composer and piano-playing nun who died this week at the age of 99, had an extraordinary life, which included being a trailblazer for women’s equality and walking barefoot for a decade in the isolated mountains of northern Ethiopia.
Listening to one of her works can be disconcerting.
It sometimes feels like being tossed around in a small boat at sea, constantly off balance, with little to hold on to. The time signature appears to shift and the scale drifts in and out of familiarity.
The sound of the pioneering pianist reflected the way her life oscillated between parallel worlds.
She was trained in Western classical music but was equally the product of traditional Orthodox Christian chants and tunes.
Her unique musical voice led one critic, Kate Molleson, to argue that Emahoy should be included alongside more familiar names when considering great 20th Century composers.
Listen to Emahoy playing The Homeless Wanderer
As a young person, Emahoy was a free-spirited modern woman but she spent much of her later life as a reclusive.
She became a devout nun who lived a humble life in a monastery in a remote part of her country. But in an earlier time she had moved in the high society of the capital, Addis Ababa, where she performed in the court of the country’s last Emperor, Haileselassie I.
Most of her important musical works – recognisable in their complexity and apparent effortlessness – came in the 1960s and 1970s.
This was during a time when her contemporaries in Addis Ababa were blending Western beats with the Ethiopian pentatonic – or five-note – scale to create a unique fusion of sounds and styles that would later be dubbed Ethio-jazz.
The genre is marked by shuffling soul and funky music as well as big-band swing pieces.
But Emahoy’s compositions and style were distinct. They were just her and her piano producing an intimate, meditative – and unsettling – melancholy informed by a fascinating life punctuated by the momentous events her country experienced during the last century.
Image caption,Emahoy, seen in this undated picture, was once part of Addis Ababa’s glamorous high society
She was born in Addis Ababa in December 1923 into a prominent aristocratic family. Her father was a mayor of the historical city of Gondar in the country’s north.
Her given name was Yewubdar – Amharic for “the most beautiful one”- a name she used until she was ordained as a nun at the age of 21.
And with her family came privilege and opportunities.
As a child she was sent to Switzerland with her sister – the first Ethiopian girls to have been sent abroad for education. It was in a Swiss boarding school that she first encountered Western classical music and at the age of eight began playing violin and the piano.
In Europe she felt alienated. “Loneliness grew up with me like a childhood friend,” she said in a book about her father’s life written by her brother, Dawit Gebru.
Music was her consolation.
Upon her return to Ethiopia at the age of 11 she was already an outgoing young girl with an appetite for fashion. But then war and tragedy knocked.
In 1936 Benito Mussolini’s Italy invaded Ethiopia. Three members of her family were killed and she was forced into exile on an island in the Mediterranean. The killing of her relatives left a strong impression on her – later she would compose a song, The Ballad of the Spirits, in their memory.
After five years of occupation, the Italians left Ethiopia and Emahoy returned home where she began work at the ministry of foreign affairs – the first female secretary there. And she drove cars – a rarity for a woman – when the majority of Ethiopians used a horse and cart for travel.
She was determined that her gender would not get in the way.
“Even in my teenage [years] I would say: ‘What is the difference between boys and girls? They are equal,” she told music journalist Molleson for a 2017 BBC documentary about her life.
A few years later she was once again on road.
This time to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to study music under the Polish violinist Alexander Kontorowicz.
She practised nine hours a day but it was the searing heat that she could not handle. As a consequence, she returned to the cooler climes of Addis Ababa with her teacher, who was appointed the head of the Imperial Guard Band.
While she seemed to enjoy the favours of the emperor for whom she played her music, not all in the aristocratic class were impressed. So when she was given the chance to continue her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, she was not permitted to travel – a decision for which her family blame some senior officials.
It changed the trajectory of her life.
Emahoy was heartbroken and sick to the point of being admitted to hospital. Subsequently she took a deep dive into religion. Eventually, she abandoned music – and the city – for a hilltop monastery in a remote part of northern Ethiopia.
She became a nun, shaved her head and stopped wearing shoes.
The death of the monastic community’s archbishop and problems with the soles of her feet led her to return to the capital in her 30s after 10 years of isolation, Molleson says.
She resumed playing music. She continued to shun the spotlight but her compositions took off around this time.
Image caption,After 10 years in a monastery in northern Ethiopia, Emahoy returned to the piano
Her years of solitary musings – and the dramatic episodes of her eventful life – were reflected in her compositions. Titles such as The Homeless Wanderer, Mother’s Love and Homesickness hinted at what was on her mind.
“Sadness was always next to me like a friend,” Emahoy was quoted as saying in her brother’s book.
Ethiopian music commentator Sertse Fresibhat called her early works “deep and thoughtful, [composed] at a young age” that received the adulation they deserved only decades later.
She went on to make recordings in Germany in the 1960s and early 1970s to raise money for homeless charities, but only gained notoriety in the West more recently.
Much like her contemporary Ethio-jazz musicians, she was introduced to the wider audience by French musicologist Francis Falceto. His series of Éthiopiques albums were compilations of archive music from the 1960s and 1970s.
Image caption,Éthiopiques volume 21 gave Emahoy’s music a whole new group of fans
Her collection, released in 2006, gained acclaim and led to her work being used in films and adverts.
But by that time she was living in an Ethiopian Orthodox Church monastery in Jerusalem, Israel.
In 1984, when Ethiopia was in the midst of a civil war and in the grips of a Marxist military regime, she left for the Holy Land and lived the remainder of her life there.
She continued to practise and compose and in her new-found fame welcomed musicologists and critics to discuss her work. She also enlisted Israeli pianist Maya Dunietz to take her manuscripts, and get them published.
In her home country she is often referred as “the Piano Queen”.
Her tunes are everywhere – some are played during periods of national mourning, while others provide background for audio books and radio shows.
But it is possible that many are unaware that they are her compositions.
They have a sense of timelessness that will no doubt continue to find ears and an audience thrilled to learn more about her near-100-year life.
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
A world where a mother must decide between health care for herself and educating her child is unjust. The aim of mPharma, a cutting-edge technology-driven health inventory and retail pharmacy firm operating in nine nations—Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda—is described in this quote on Gregory’s LinkedIn page.
This week marks two years since she inherited the seat from Magufuli, who died in March 2021 after a short illness. She has upended her predecessor’s policies on health, political liberties, foreign policy, education and investments and trade relations.
Last month, she struck a further conciliatory tone, allowing opposition groups to resume political rallies and those in exile to return to the country. Her predecessor Magufuli, as soon as he assumed office, banned political rallies “for the sake of development”. President Samia, on the other hand, has rallied for national unity.
“Politics is not quarrelling or insults, it is not telling lies, nor the language of mockery, slandering and incitement,” she said after she was sworn in as Tanzania’s sixth president. “Politics of this kind is not productive, it is a violation of rule of law.”
Political manoeuvres
Her speech was later followed by a series of political manoeuvres, including setting free the chairman of the main opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, and broadening the civic and political space in the country.
Mr Mbowe had been in prison for 18 months facing terrorism charges. He had been arrested under her tenure, however, something that nearly blotted her first steps. The Magufuli era was characterised by constriction of civic and political space and a violent crackdown on the opposition and the media.
President Samia did allow the banned media outlets to resume publication, even though critics have said she hasn’t helped amend the laws Magufuli introduced to squeeze the freedoms. Placing a strong emphasis on reconciliation, she was guest of honour for the International Women’s Day at the opposition Chadema party at an event in Kilimanjaro on March 8, a gesture that went down well with the nation.
Tanzania has recently seen the return of two opposition politicians, Godbless Lema and Tundu Lissu, from exile, to cheering crowds. On health, as soon as she was sworn in, Dodoma made a U-turn on its stance of denying Covid-19 existence. Magufuli had ridiculed Covid-19 protocols and barred vaccines in the country. President Samia would appoint a committee of experts to advise her on the way forward and propose measures to keep Tanzanians safe, resumed timely Covid-19 updates and launched a national campaign on the jabs.
Covid-19 jabs
The latest data shows that close to 30 million people in the country had received Covid-19 jabs, achieving a 50 percent inoculation target.
“The government continues to provide Covid-19 vaccination from across the country to curb the global pandemic outbreak. We insist that people continue taking preventative measures against the virus and all other airborne diseases,” said a Health ministry update on the pandemic. While Tanzania has free basic education, President Samia has since waived all forms of fees and contributions in government schools, including registration and exam fees, which posed a significant burden on parents in the past. She also reversed Magufuli-era policy of barring pregnant girls and teenage mothers from school, something Tanzania had been criticised for.
“Primary and secondary school students once stopped from going school due to pregnancy will be given an opportunity to return to school in the formal system,” said the then Tanzania’s Education Minister Joyce Ndalichako in Dodoma last year.
The government announced that the new policy will also apply to students who stopped classes due to truancy and other problems.
Reopened diplomatic relations
Unlike Magufuli, President Samia reopened Tanzania’s diplomatic relations with the world, and resumed Tanzania’s frequent travels by a head of state. This has seen her tour Beijing to Brussels. Dakar to Davos. Dubai to Doha, London to New York and Nairobi, Los Angeles to Kinshasa and this week, Pretoria. She helped resolved most of the petty trading quarrels with Kenya on her state visit and boosted ties across the East African Community.
Samia attended dozens of meetings from a regional level to international, in a quest of repairing old ties and cementing existing ones while at the same time building new ties. She used trips and meetings to boost Dodoma’s Foreign Direct Investment and source funds to finance Tanzania’s ambitious projects such as the standard gauge railway, the Julius Nyerere Hydropower project, roads and other projects.
Thirty-seven individuals have died from cholera in the last six months, according to Ethiopia’s Public Health Institute (EPHI), mostly in areas most severely affected by a protracted ongoing drought.
The UN reports that the greatest drought in 40 years is currently occurring in the Oromia and Somale regions, where the outbreak started in August 2022.
The issue has been contained, according to authorities, by the establishment of treatment facilities.
In its report, EPHI also says that a measles outbreak has claimed 148 lives in the past 18 months.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is travelling to Africa for a two-nation tour – the latest in a series of visits to the continent by top American officials.
Security, a ravaging drought and the jihadist threat in the Sahel will be the focus of Mr Blinken’s visit to the two countries this week
He will be in Ethiopia on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the peace deal signed between the government and rebel troops following a two-year bloody war.
He will also meet humanitarian agencies in the country.
Ethiopia is battling the aftermath of the fighting that displaced tens of thousands and the effects of the worst droughts in the Horn of Africa region in decades.
Secretary Blinken will then visit Niger – the first by a US Secretary of State – and will help shore up efforts to counter the expansion of jihadist groups in the Sahel.
His visit to Africa follows that of US First Lady Jill Biden, who last month visited Namibia and Kenya.
Aida Muluneh is a contemporary Ethiopian artist leading the charge in her home region to change the narrative portrayed in the global media about Africa. She has been a victim of war, read about famine in parts of the continent, and come across women and children who are malnourished, but she doesn’t believe it is enough justification for the foreign press to focus on these negatives to tell Africa’s story. There are many positive stories about the continent, and that is why she is investing her talent in her photography project.
Born in 1974 in Addis Ababa, Aida was compelled to live the next decade of her life in England, Yemen, Greece, Cyprus, and later Canada in 1985, due to the civil war in Ethiopia during her formative years, according to hundred heroines. However, her adventure across the globe was brought to a halt when she developed a passion for photography and decided to move back to Ethiopia.
This marriage with photography happened only after wandering along many career paths. She dabbled from being a basketball player to a lawyer until she had an epiphany in a disused darkroom where a Pentax 35-millimeter camera caught her eye. Since then, it’s been no turning back for Aida in her photography journey, she graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in film, radio, and television.
Her passion to relocate to her home region was also rekindled after briefly working at the Washington Post. It was during this period in her life that she became disturbed by the media’s consistent negative framing of Africa in their reportage. After relocating to Ethiopia in the 2000s, she was determined to work toward presenting an alternative narrative of what Africa stands for.
One of those works is “the world is 9,” an expression her grandmother often used to explain the imperfections of the world. She converted this philosophical expression into a series of photographic works that invites her audience to question life, love, history, and if the world should not be embraced in its imperfect and complete form.
One such piece is titled “All In One”, where Aida focuses on the various religions that define the history of Ethiopia. It first started with Christianity, then Islam, and later Judaism, which symbolizes the union of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheeba. It communicates the message that all religions exist in different forms but what matters is a person’s faith and spirituality, according to CNN.
She also addresses the pressure and conflict that exists between traditional and career women, which she titled “The Morning Bridge”. It depicts how many women are keen to get married as a result of pressure from their families. While there are those who want to be successful with both their careers and marriages but seem to be failing despite the effort, there are others who are desirous of a family but are unable to make the switch between their ambitions and this goal. Her work questions why women can’t have both successful careers and still stay married.
She also dedicates a part to Ethiopia’s 2,000-year history, which had been wiped away by the communist era. She called this “Departure” to coincide with her own experience as a child where she had to go and live in a foreign land because of the dysfunctional system. She uses the train station given as a gift to Emperor Menelik and Haile Selassie and what is left of this relic to tell the story of how Ethiopia fought colonial invasion and preserved its independence from Europe.
Today inSomalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, more than eight million people require food assistance and around 332,000 “urgently need food, otherwise their lives are at risk”, said UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado.
A full eight in 10 of the displaced are women and children, the UNHCR official continued, while UN migration agency, IOM, warned that failed rains and conflict in Somalia, “could force tens of thousands of people” to seek refuge in major cities and towns, particularly in Baidoa and Mogadishu where IOM projects that approximately 300,000 people could be newly displaced by July 2023”.
In an appeal for $137 million to maintain vital humanitarian programmes this year, UNHCR’s Ms. Sarrado said that well over three million refugees and internally displaced people have already been forced to leave their homes in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Struggle to survive
Survival is a struggle for these uprooted communities, amid scarce water sources, hunger, insecurity and conflict. They need safety and assistance, just as much as host communities do too, the UN agency insisted.
“While famine has so far been averted in Somalia, mostly due to a stepped-up humanitarian response, people continue to battle life-threatening food and water shortages resulting from massive losses of harvests, livestock, and income,” Ms. Sarrado explained.
Price to pay
The UNHCR spokesperson warned however that prices of essential foodstuffs and other commodities “remain at an all-time high, out of reach for many. The dangerous confluence of climate and conflict in the region is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.”
In Somalia alone, since the start of the year, 288,000 people have become internally displaced, because of conflict and drought, UNHCR data shows.
More than 180,000 refugees from Somalia and South Sudan have also crossed into drought-affected areas of Kenya and Ethiopia, the UN agency noted.
In Ethiopia’s Somali region – itself already suffering deeply from drought – nearly 100,000 people have arrived in Doolo in recent weeks, after fleeing conflict in the Somalia’s Laascaanood area.
Desperate testimony
In Kenya’s Dadaab camps, UNHCR also reported the testimony of a 60-year-old woman from Somalia who said that she had endured three decades of conflict in southern Somalia, but that it was extreme hunger that forced her to flee for her life.
“Most of the newly displaced might never go back to their places of origin because the land can no longer provide, and insecurity will only increase as competition for the already scarce resources grow,” IOM said in an alert for the record 3.8 million people now displaced in Somalia. “As a result, entire families will be born and raised in informal settlements amid unsuitable living conditions.”
Humanitarian action
As part of its response, UNHCR plans to provide more basic relief items including emergency shelter and household items for new refugee arrivals and displaced people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Water trucking supplies will be increased, while additional boreholes will be drilled and existing water and sanitation systems refurbished.
Cash assistance will be prioritized for the most vulnerable to help them supplement their own food needs, while also encouraging traders to make food and other necessities available.
Health facilities will also be supported to step up nutritional assistance for women and children through high-nutrient feeding and medical treatment for related diseases.
“This additional assistance and protection is required urgently…to save millions of lives,” said UNHCR’s Ms. Sarrado, who noted that last year’s appeal garnered less than half of the required amount needed to respond to the drought.
Ethiopian security forces have killed three individuals after opening fire on demonstrators in the southern town of Wolkite about a water crisis.
Some residents claim that five further persons were hurt during the protests on Wednesday.
Residents protested in front of the city’s water management office because they were upset about the town’s rising water deficit.
“We have waited long to hold demonstrations. We came out today hoping we would get [solutions]. But things have turned into guns and blood,” one resident told the BBC.
In an effort to put an end to a brutal two-year civil war, Ethiopia’s government signed a peace agreement with forces from the northern Tigray region last November. However, locals and aid organisations have informed the BBC that attacks on civilians, particularly sexual assaults against women, have persisted.
This report contains content which some readers may find upsetting, including sexual violence
Letay spent the night hiding under a bridge as mortar rounds fell and exploded all around her on the day that representatives of the Ethiopian government shook hands with their rivals from Tigray to make peace. Both sides grinned as cameras captured the moment.
She had just escaped an Eritrean soldier’s rape while she was by herself in a remote area of north-east Tigray.
“After it happened, I was unconscious for a long time before I regained consciousness. I had to hide myself until they left.”
We have changed Letay’s name and those of the other rape survivors who shared their stories with the BBC to protect them from stigmatisation and retribution.
During the two-year conflict in northern Ethiopia, the systematic rape of Tigrayan women by Ethiopian soldiers, as well as their allies from neighbouring Eritrea and militia groups, has been documented by the United Nations, human rights organisations and journalists.
Forces from Tigray have also been accused of sexually assaulting women in the Amhara region as they made a push towards Ethiopia’s capital.
Image caption,Hundreds of thousands of people are thought to have died in the war
For two years, from November 2020, the two sides in the civil war fought for control of Tigray. The death toll could be in the hundreds of thousands.
There was hope that after the peace agreement was signed in November, the assaults on civilians would stop.
Women, health workers and aid organisations have told the BBC that they did not.
I spoke to Letay on a crackly phone line – journalists are not being given government permission to travel to Tigray.
“It happened to me twice. What have I done wrong? It seemed like I wished for it.”
“The two of them did what they wanted before asking the third one to do the same, except he said no. He said: ‘What will I do with her? She is already a corpse lying around.’”
After the first time she was raped, Letay sought medical and psychological help, joining a women’s support group for survivors. On the day of the peace deal Letay had rushed out to help a young girl who had also been raped before she was assaulted too.
It is difficult to know the true number of sexual assaults committed during the war.
Victims are often scared to speak out while telecommunications had been cut off during the fighting.
According to data from the official Tigray Health Bureau in November and December 2022 – after the peace deal was signed – 852 cases were reported in centres set up to help survivors.
Human rights workers and aid organisations operating in Tigray have also continued to document cases of sexual violence.
Image caption,Support groups have set up centres for survivors of sexual assault in the conflict
Adiama, who comes from the town of Zalambesa in north-eastern Tigray, said she was sexually assaulted by an Eritrean soldier at the end of last month.
“There were four of them but only one raped me. They even had plans to kill me but they left after I was raped.”
Sister Mulu Mesfin, who has worked with rape survivors since the start of the conflict at Tigray’s biggest hospital in the regional capital Mekelle, sent me a voice message as she walked through a ward.
According to Sister Mulu, and other health workers we have spoken to, most of these assaults in Tigray were committed by Eritrean troops, while militia from the Amhara region and federal government forces are also accused of committing rapes.
Eritrea shares a border with Tigray and has a long-standing rivalry with the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – one of the reasons why it joined the civil war backing the Ethiopian government.
Last week, Eritrea’s reclusive President Isaias Afwerki made a rare public appearance when he visited Kenya.
Coming from a country where a free press does not exist, Mr Isaias was visibly angry and frustrated when asked tough questions by journalists. He dismissed all claims of atrocities committed by his country’s forces in Tigray.
“Everybody talking about human rights violations [by Eritrean forces], rape, looting, this is a fantasy in the minds of those who own this factory, that I call a factory of fabricating misinformation,” he said.
Image caption,President Isaias Afwerki denies all allegations of atrocities by Eritrean forces
We have sent the allegations in this report to the Ethiopian government’s communications minister and the African Union, which brokered the peace deal, for comment, but neither have responded.
November’s agreement has brought positive change to Tigray. There is no active fighting. Aid, especially food and medication, is reaching more towns and cities, while banking and communication services have resumed.
Some families have been reunited and others have spoken to each other for the first time in more than a year. But according to article four of the agreement: “The Parties shall, in particular, condemn any act of sexual and gender-based violence.”
“Sexual violence is a violation of the agreement,” says Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa Director at Human Rights Watch. “One of the issues we have been raising is the importance of the backers of the agreement to ensure that they are speaking out when there are violations”.
The organisation continues to call for independent investigators and journalists to gain access to northern Ethiopia.
“We are very concerned by the efforts of the Ethiopian government to try to end and undermine the work of the international commission of human rights experts of Ethiopia, which was established by the Human Rights Commission in Geneva,” she adds.
Ms Bader says investigations will be crucial if survivors are to get justice and for any reconciliation process.
“I never expected to be assaulted after the peace agreement,” says Hilina.
The mother of three had already fled her home in Humera to the town of Shirao where she worked as a street vendor selling maize.
She says on 16 November, she was late going home when two Eritrean troops stopped her for breaking the curfew. She told them she had no ID, and they took her to an empty house.
Satellite images taken on September 26 and released by the company Maxar Technologies showed the build-up of what appeared to be Eritrean or Ethiopian forces in Shiraro.
Image caption,The war raged for two years but was largely hidden from the world’s view, with communications cut off and entry restricted
Hilina says she could tell from the men’s appearance and the dialect in which they spoke that they were from Eritrea.
“They brought me to an empty house. They took out a gun and said: ‘If you keep quiet, we won’t harm you.’ So, I told them they could do what they wanted to but begged them not to kill me.”
Hilina says she was raped the whole night before they let her go in the morning. She has since had an abortion, saying she would rather die than give birth to a child from rape.
According to aid workers the BBC spoke to there are Eritrean troops close to Shiraro.
The peace deal requires them to leave Tigray and though they have pulled out of major cities and towns, they maintain a presence in areas close to their border with Tigray.
Shashu, an 80-year-old woman, cannot hold back her tears as we speak to her – again on a crackly phone line. We ask if she wants to continue with the interview and she agrees.
Like Letay, Shashu says she has been raped twice in this war – before and after the peace deal.
Following violent protests sparked by a split within the nation’s Orthodox Church, the Internet watchdog NetBlocks reported that access to social media platforms has been restricted in Ethiopia.
When three church officials last month professed themselves archbishops and established their own governing body, protests broke out in the Oromia region. While some protesters resisted it, others were in favour of it.
According to network data that NetBlocks had gathered, access to Facebook, Messenger, TikTok, and Telegram has been severely constrained.
⚠️ Confirmed: Network metrics show that social media and messaging platforms Facebook, Messenger, TikTok and Telegram have been restricted in #Ethiopia amid anti-government protests over a split in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhado Church #EOTC
The tweet came hours after the church said at least 30 people have been killed in the protests since February 4.
The church’s statement called for demonstrations on Sunday against the new governing body as it accused the Ethiopian government of “meddling” in the church’s internal affairs after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asked his ministers to stay out of the dispute.
The Ethiopian state has traditionally maintained close ties to theOrthodox Church, to which more than 40 percent of the population belongs.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. The government said in a statement on Thursday that the upcoming protest was banned to prevent violence.
Ethiopian authorities have previously shut down or restricted access to the internet during periods of political unrest, including in response to protests in 2020 that followed the killing of a popular singer from Oromia.
Internet and phone communications were also shut down in the northern region of Tigray for most of a two-year war that ended in a ceasefire in November.
The Orthodox Church insisted Sunday’s protest would go ahead and said the government’s ban constituted “a declaration to destroy the church once and for all”.
Oromia, home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, has experienced violent conflict for many years, part of wider unrest in Ethiopia, a multiethnic country where power has long been contested between federal and regional authorities.
Ethiopia has limited access to social media and messaging platforms amid mounting tensions between the authorities and the Orthodox church.
Netblocks, an organisation that monitors freedom of access to the internet, said the restrictions impacted Facebook, Messenger, Telegram and TikTok.
This comes after the church’s highest body, or the synod, defied a ban by authorities and announced it would go ahead with planned protest rallies.
Schools were closed on Friday following a directive by the authorities.
The Orthodox Church, the country’s largest religious denomination, accuses the government of backing a breakaway faction in Oromia region.
The breakaway clergy accuse the church of maintaining a system of linguistic and cultural hegemony in which congregations in Oromia are not served in their native languages. The church denies the accusation.
Ethiopia has previously been accused by rights groups of blocking access to internet.
On Monday, a referendum to create a new regional state will be held in southern Ethiopia, where millions of voters will participate.
In the previous four years, there have been three of these referendums staged, all in the south of the nation.
In previous elections, the Sidama and South-Western Ethiopia areas were created.
The Southern Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and People’s (SNNP) area includes five districts and six sub-regional administrative units (zones), and more over three million people are registered to vote.
If the new region is approved, it will be known as Southern Ethiopia region.
Pope Francis arrived Friday in South Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world, the first papal visit to this independent country for ten years and undermined by violence and climatic hazards.
The country, landlocked between lush African rainforests and arid deserts, borders Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
It has more than 60 ethnic groups. The largest community is the Dinka, ahead of the Nuer. Both have been settled for centuries on the banks of the White Nile, which crosses the country from south to north.
The country is predominantly Christian, a legacy of European missionaries who arrived at the end of the 19th century to gain a foothold in the region in the face of the expansion of Islam towards the south of the African continent.
About 60% of the roughly 12 million South Sudanese are Christians, almost a third are animists or follow another traditional religion, and a small minority are Muslims.
The youngest state in the world
On January 9, 2005, the North (with a Muslim majority) and the South of Sudan sign a peace agreement, after decades of civil war between southern rebels and Khartoum (1959-1972 and 1983-2005), which made millions of dead.
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan proclaimed its independence from Sudan, six months after having voted by referendum for its secession (nearly 99% yes).
With an area of 589,745 km2 (barely larger than metropolitan France), the country represents almost a quarter of former Sudan. North and South are still fighting over the oil-rich province of Abyei.
A terrible civil war
Two years after its independence, South Sudan is falling into a civil war that will leave nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced.
Fighting broke out in the capital Juba on December 15, 2013, between rival army units, plagued by political-ethnic antagonism fueled by dissension between President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president Riek Machar, respectively Dinka and Nuer. The conflict is rapidly spreading in the country.
This five-year war will be marked by innumerable atrocities: ethnic massacres of men, women and children, castrated men, women and girls abducted, reduced to slavery and systematically raped, and children slaughtered or thrown alive in burning huts…
More than 13,000 children have also been enrolled in the ranks of the various forces. The war will officially end with a peace agreement between Kiir and Machar in September 2018, but tensions between the two enemy brothers continue.
Poverty and humanitarian crisis
The majority of the South Sudanese population lives in poverty. Since 2013, 4.5 million people have fled their homes (2.2 million inside the country, 2.3 million to neighbouring countries), according to the UN, thrown on the roads by politico-ethnic violence that persists in the country, but also droughts and floods.
In 2017, a famine was declared in two northern counties. Since the end of July 2022, around one million people have been affected by floods, caused by torrential rains that ravage crops and destroy homes, according to the UN.
By July, more than 7.7 million people are at risk of being in a situation of acute food insecurity, three UN agencies (FAO, Unicef, WFP) warned in November 2022, a level never reached, even during the war. civil.
The country is ranked 191st and last on the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world (35% in 2018, according to the World Bank ).
Oil-dependent economy and unexplored biodiversity
South Sudan’s economy, based on oil and agriculture, is particularly vulnerable to climate, oil and conflict shocks.
Growth, recently undermined by floods, locust invasions and the Covid-19 pandemic, “should rebound to (…) 6.5% in 2023 thanks to the increase in oil export revenues”, underlines the African Development Bank (ADB).
The South inherited at independence three-quarters of Sudan’s oil reserves but remains dependent on the infrastructure of the North for its exports. The oil sector contributes 90% of its income and represents almost all of its exports, according to the World Bank.
But the oil windfall is largely diverted for political ends and enrichment in this country classified as the most affected by corruption by the NGO Transparency International (180th out of 180).
The economy is also suffering from runaway inflation. It had slowed somewhat after reaching 33% in 2020, but should be 16% in 2023 “due to drought and rising food prices (…) following the Russia-Ukraine conflict”, estimates the AfDB.
South Sudan, 15% of whose territory is made up of national parks and reserves, is home to a variety of fauna (antelopes, elephants, buffaloes and the very rare Nubian giraffes, etc.) battered by civil war and poaching, but which could enable tourism to flourish.
It is also home to the largest savannah ecosystem in East Africa, which supports one of the largest seasonal animal migrations in the world, involving some 1.2 million antelopes and gazelles.
The southern marsh, the largest marshy area in the world (57,000 km2), is home to countless birds and huge expanses of papyrus and aquatic plants.
The largest religious group in Ethiopia, the Orthodox Church, has vowed to call for statewide demonstrations to be headed by its patriarch, Abuna Mathias.
The church has criticised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent statements regarding rogue clergy involved in the appointment of bishops without its knowledge.
Mr Abiy’s lengthy remarks, broadcast on national television on Tuesday, came after the church’s synod excommunicated the breakaway clergy, who are from the country’s Oromia region.
He warned his cabinet members against getting involved in the church’s affairs. However, he said both sides “have truths.”
The synod said the PM’s remarks disregarded its decisions, challenged its authority and gave recognition to an “illegitimate power-hungry” group.
Some of Mr Abiy’s statements were “misleading”, it added.
The breakaway clergy accuse the church of maintaining a system of linguistic and cultural hegemony in which congregations in Oromia are not served in their native languages. The church denies the accusation.
The breakaway clergy said they had “overwhelming” public support after touring some areas in the conflict-prone western Oromia.
The synod’s statement comes amid accusations among the faithful that authorities are supporting the breakaway clergy.
It accuses the government of harassing and detaining its senior figures. It vows to continue to speak out even if they [senior religious leaders] have to “sacrifice their lives.”
Relationships between Mr Abiy’s administration and the church – which boasts nearly half of Ethiopia’s 110 million population as its adherents – were positive in the early days of his tenure.
However, in recent years members of the faith group have reported being targeted.
Relations became particularly strained during the heights of the Tigray war after Abuna Mathias spoke against what he called genocide in the region.
One person was killed on Monday during a shooting that targeted a group of Chinese nationals in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, the country’s embassy has said.
The gunmen opened fire on nine Chinese nationals, killing one of them, during the incident in Garba Guaracha town, located around 160km (99 miles) north of the capital, Addis Ababa.
“Unfortunately one of them has died,” the statement confirmed.
The embassy has warned Chinese citizens to increase their security awareness and evacuate from “high-risk areas”.
In Oromia and bordering areas, “pernicious cases of armed attacks, kidnappings and robberies” are common, the embassy added.
The BBC’s attempt to reach to the region’s communications office was not successful.
While relative calm has returned to the war-hit northern region of Tigray following a peace deal signed in November, violence continues to surface in Oromia with fighting between government forces and rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) reported.
Clashes around the region’s borders with neighbouring Amhara have also claimed lives in in the past few weeks.
Last week 20 workers of a factory owned by Nigeria’s Dangote Cement were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the region. They were later reported to have been released.
It was the second such kidnapping in recent weeks.
In December, some Dangote Cement employees were also kidnaped and released after ransom was paid.
The Ethiopian Embassy reported that one person was killed on Monday during gunfire that was directed at a group of Chinese nationals in Ethiopia’s unrest-plagued Oromia region.
Nine Chinese nationals were targeted by the gunmen during the incident in Garba Guaracha town, which is located about 160 kilometres (99 miles) north of Addis Abeba. One of the nine Chinese victims was killed.
It confirmed that “unfortunately one of them has passed away.”
The embassy has advised Chinese nationals to be more cautious and leave “high-risk areas” immediately.
In Oromia and bordering areas, “pernicious cases of armed attacks, kidnappings and robberies” are common, the embassy added.
The BBC’s attempt to reach to the region’s communications office was not successful.
While relative calm has returned to the war-hit northern region of Tigray following a peace deal signed in November, violence continues to surface in Oromia with fighting between government forces and rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) reported.
Clashes around the region’s borders with neighbouring Amhara have also claimed lives in in the past few weeks.
Last week 20 workers of a factory owned by Nigeria’s Dangote Cement were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the region. They were later reported to have been released.
It was the second such kidnapping in recent weeks.
Sudan’s military leader says “Sudan and Ethiopia are in agreement on all matters regarding” the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), state-run news agency Suna has reported.
Speaking when he met visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Khartoum on Thursday, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stressed the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Sudan and Ethiopia.
Mr Abiy said that the Nile dam would “not harm Sudan’s interests but rather will benefit Khartoum in the electricity sector”.
On 11 January, Sudanese and Egyptian foreign ministers agreed to “continue consultations” regarding the Ethiopian dam.
Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Egypt have been embroiled in a long dispute over the dam, which Sudan and Cairo fear would reduce their shares of water from the River Nile.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is in Sudan on an official visit to the country for talks with the country’s military ruler, Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
On Thursday, Mr Abiy was welcomed by the military leader on arrival in the capital city Khartoum.
Ethiopia’s state television ETV reported that the prime minister would discuss ways to bolster “all-round relations” between the two countries.
Mr Abiy’s office said that during the discussions, the Prime Minister shared Ethiopia’s “solidarity with Sudan in the political dialogue process that they have embarked upon”.
Sudan’s military and civilian groups have been in long-running negotiations to end the political crisis that followed the October 2021 coup.
Prime Minister @AbiyAhmedAli and his delegation have arrived in Khartoum, Sudan for a one day working visit and have been received by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of Sudan.#PMOEthiopiapic.twitter.com/dhYLipelHv
— Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) January 26, 2023
Relations between Ethiopia and Sudan are thawing after years of tensions over a fertile agricultural land in Al-Fashaga border area and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The BBC has received reports from locals in various areas of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea are leaving the areas they have been in charge of in large numbers.
Eritrean army vehicles have been driving through Adwa town since Friday morning, a local witness told the BBC.
“They [soldiers] have been travelling in a lot of vehicles,” he said.
Describing the number of soldiers as “like ants” the resident said the vehicles “were sounding trumpets” and the soldiers were singing.
“They were singing with flags and also posting various slogans on their vehicles,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian federal army was guarding the outskirts of the town, the resident said.
According to the peace agreement between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the withdrawal of foreign forces and non-federal armed groups from Tigray would take place when Tigray forces handed over their heavy weapons to the federal government, which they have.
Another resident of Aksum town also told the BBC that dozens of vehicles transporting Eritrean troops and weapons have been passing through the town.
“I have counted 70 vehicles, 12 tanks, and many others. The soldiers were in different vehicles. They are coming in the direction of Adwa and heading towards the city of Shire,” said Berihu Kahsay, who was among residents who lined the streets to witness the withdrawal.
Several sources in Eritrea have also confirmed the mass withdrawal of the troops and military equipment.
Eritrean soldiers were deployed in November 2020 to back the Ethiopian government’s offensive in Tigray.
Head of Ethiopia’s central bank, Yinager Dessie has been sacked as the nation struggles with high inflation rate.
He has been replaced by the Prime Minister’s previous economic advisor, Mamo Mihretu.
Mr. Dessie was appointed governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), in 2018 shortly after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office.
Since 2020, annual inflation has stayed above 20%, peaking at over 33% in 2018.
Ethiopia’s currency, bar, was devalued against the dollar during the time of the outgoing governor.
In Mr. Mihretu’s portfolio, he ran the Ethiopian Investment Holdings, a sovereign wealth fund with large state-owned corporations like Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio Telecom.
The army says, forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara region that fought in support of federal troops during the two-year civil war in neighbouring Tigray have left in accordance with a ceasefire backed by the African Union.
In a statement released late on Thursday, the Ethiopian National Defence Force stated that “the Amhara regional special force, which was in a national mission alongside the ENDF, has withdrawn from the area, as per the deal.”
The withdrawal is an important step in carrying out the agreement reached on November 2. The disarmament of Tigrayan forces, who started handing over their heavy weapons on Wednesday, is another crucial element.
The agreement was signed by Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a party that dominates the region.
The conflict broke out in November 2020 over disagreements between the federal government in Addis Ababa and Tigrayan authorities. It has created famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands of people and killed tens of thousands.
According to the United Nations, the war has displaced more than two million Ethiopians and left more than 13.6 million people in the north dependent on humanitarian aid.
The restoration of basic services in Tigray, resumption of humanitarian aid and withdrawal of troops from neighbouring Eritrea, who fought alongside Ethiopia’s army, are central to the deal.
Eritrean soldiers began to pull out of several important towns inTigray late last month. However, they have not left those towns entirely, residents say, and it is not clear whether they intend to leave.
Eritrea, which was not a party to the truce, has declined to comment on whether its troops will leave Tigray.
Tigrayan rebels this week began handing in their heavy weapons in the town of Agulae, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northeast of the regional capital Mekelle, in a move overseen by a monitoring team made up of members of the two sides and a regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
Besides disarming rebel forces, the terms of the agreement also include restoring federal authority in Tigray and reopening access and communications to the region, which has been cut off since mid-2021.
The disarmament is a key component of the peace agreement signed by the government and the rebel group two months ago.
Tigrayan rebels have begun handing in heavy weapons, a key component of a deal signed more than two months ago to end a gruelling conflict in northern Ethiopia, according to a spokesman for the rebel authorities.
A monitoring team comprised of members from both sides and a regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), oversaw the handover in Agulae, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northeast of the regional capital Mekelle.
The terms of a peace agreement signed on November 2 include disarming rebel forces, restoring federal authority in Tigray and reopening access and communications to the region, which has been cut off since mid-2021.
Fighting broke out in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed the army to arrest Tigrayan leaders who had been challenging his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.
“Tigray has handed over its heavy weapons as part of its commitment to implementing the #Pretoria agreement” that was signed between Ethiopia’s government and Tigrayan rebels, Tigray People’s Liberation Front spokesman Getachew Reda said in a tweet on Wednesday.
“We hope & expect this will go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement.”
At the handover ceremony, Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) representative Mulugeta Gebrechristos said the start of the disarmament would play a major role in restoring peace.
“We are operating with the belief that if we are to have peace, all things that open the door for provocation must not be there. Peace is vital for us all,” Mulugeta said in a speech broadcast on the local Tigrai TV.
“We are all [part of] one Ethiopia. Both us and the TDF have moved from our respective defensive positions in peace, understanding and love,” Aleme Tadesse, a representative of the Ethiopian army, said.
A November 12 deal on the implementation of the agreement said the disarmament of heavy Tigrayan weapons would take place at the same time as the withdrawal of foreign and non-federal forces.
Neighbouring Eritea has supported the Ethiopian army in fighting in the region but Asmara did not participate in the Pretoria talks.
An Ethiopian government delegation, including the prime minister’s national security adviser Redwan Hussein and several ministers, visited Mekelle on December 26, marking a major step in the peace process.
A few days later, on December 29, Ethiopian federal police entered Mekelle for the first time in 18 months.
