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☆ Drones have turned the tables in recent African wars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Drones recently supplied to Sudan by Iran are already making an impact in that country's brutal civil war. Similar types of drones played decisive roles in turning the tables in two previous African civil wars in recent years and could do so again. "It should come as no surprise that these drones are being used in wars around the world," Rogers told BI. In this context, drones are useful to achieve specific objectives, but they will not win the war alone," Rogers said. RANE's Dodd also credited Ethiopia's drone procurements for decisively "turning the tide" of the Tigray War.

Persons: —, Remi Dodd, RANE, it's, Dodd, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Turkey's TB2, Loong, Debretsion Gebremichael, RANE's Dodd Organizations: Service, Business, Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, United, Ethiopian, Tigray, Libyan National Army, Cornell Brooks Tech, Institute, Cornell University, American Warfare, Anadolu, Getty, Democratic Locations: Sudan, Iran, Iranian, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Libya, Tripoli, Omdurman, Tehran, Red, Yemen, Ukraine, Tigray War, Tigray, Addis Ababa, Ukrainian, New York, Donetsk, Nigeria, DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso

☆ Ethiopia Extends State of Emergency in Amhara
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's parliament on Friday extended by four months a state of emergency declared in August to respond to an insurgency in the northern region of Amhara that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and drawn accusations of widespread human rights abuses. Fighting erupted in Amhara last July between federal forces and a local militia called Fano, which has accused the government of undermining the region's security. The state of emergency handed the government powers to impose curfews, restrict people's movement and ban public gatherings. The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has documented a range of alleged abuses in the Amhara conflict, most of which it has attributed to government forces. EHRC head Daniel Bakele said on social media on Friday that his organisation was "gravely concerned" about the implications of the extension for human rights and the humanitarian situation.

Persons: Fano, Abiy, Daniel Bakele, Dawit Endeshaw, Bhargav Acharya, Aaron Ross, Angus MacSwan Organizations: ADDIS ABABA, Reuters, Ethiopian Human Rights Locations: ADDIS, Amhara, Fano, Tigray

☆ UN experts say war crimes committed in Ethiopia despite formal end to conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

GENEVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - War crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in Ethiopia nearly a year after government and regional forces from Tigray agreed to end fighting, U.N. experts said in a report published on Monday. Thousands died in the two-year conflict, which formally came to an end in November last year. "I must admit the worst of this was that perpetrated by Eritrean forces in Tigray. Though, of course, Ethiopian forces were also responsible," she said, adding that Tigrayan forces had also perpetrated sexual violence in Amhara. Authorities from the Ethiopian region of Amhara have also denied that their forces committed atrocities in neighbouring Tigray.

Persons: Thousands, Mohamed Chande Othman, Yemane Ghebremeskel, spokespeople, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean Organizations: International Commission of Human, Eritrean Defence Forces, EDF, Ethiopian, Reuters, Eritrean, Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Hereward, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Ethiopia, Tigray, Eritrea, Amhara, Ethiopian, Geneva, Hereward Holland, Nairobi

CNN —At least 26 people have been killed in an explosion in the town of Finote Selam in northwestern Ethiopia, amid heavy fighting between government forces and a local militia group. Tenaw told CNN that people reported hearing only one explosion, the cause of which is unclear. The Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency in the Amhara region on August 4 after days of clashes. The United Nations “called on all sides to respect human rights and take steps to deescalate the situation,” noting that “previous states of emergency have been accompanied by violations of human rights” in a statement Friday. CNN has reached out to the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, and the Amhara regional government for comment.

Persons: Manaye Tenaw, Tenaw, EHRC, ” “ EHRC, Finote Selam, ”, United Nations “, Antony Blinken, “, I’ve, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Human Rights, Ethiopian, Dar, United Nations, Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Amhara, Eritrean Defense Forces, Front, State Locations: Finote, Ethiopia, Fano, Amhara, Debre Birhan, Gondar, Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, America, Tigray

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. In that war, federal forces faced battle-hardened fighters loyal to Tigray's ruling party, who at one point advanced hundreds of kilometres towards the capital Addis Ababa. Following the Tigray deal, his government held preliminary talks with rebels in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia's largest, about ending a decades-long insurgency. But anger was building in Amhara, where the Tigray deal deepened existing suspicions of Abiy's government. It said the status of lands claimed by both Amhara and Tigray, which Amhara forces captured during the war, should be resolved "in accordance with the constitution".

Persons: Abiy, Tewodrose Tirfe, Temesgen, Ethiopia's, Fano, Addisu Lashitew, Befekadu Hailu, Aaron Ross, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, Fano, Amhara Association of America, Brookings Institution, Protesters, Thomson Locations: Amhara Region, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Tigray, Amhara, Fano, Africa, Eritrea, Sudan, Addis Ababa, Oromiya

☆ Iran's drones could reach a new South American market as Bolivia expresses interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what's ahead for defense stocks "Latin American countries are of special significance in Iran's foreign and defense policy based on the importance of [the] very sensitive South American region," Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying. Iran's drones have made "considerable impact on any battlefield they have appeared in," according to Farzin Nadimi, an arms expert at The Washington Institute said. The U.S.' concerns center on Iran's deepening foreign alliances and dissemination of its lethal drones, analysts say. It added that a former Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, "boasted in October 2022 that 22 countries — including Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Venezuela — had submitted formal requests for Iranian drones." Iran has previously provided drones to African countries including Sudan and Ethiopia, which the latter used against Tigrayan rebels.

Persons: Oleksii Samsonov, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Edmundo Novillo, Novillo, Farzin, Nadimi, Novillo's, John Kirby, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Kirby, Annika Ganzeveld, Asad, Khomeini, Majid Asgaripour, Venezuela —, Raisi, ISW Organizations: Kyiv, Getty, Iran's, Bolivian, Bolivia's, CNBC, U.S . Defense Intelligence Agency, The Washington Institute, U.S . Institute for Peace, The U.S, U.S . National Security Council, Sepah, Anadolu Agency, American Enterprise Institute, Associated Press, U.S, Missiles, WANA, REUTERS, for, Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine, Iran, Washington, South America, Tehran, Fars, Bolivia, The, U.S, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, America, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, U.S Ayn, REUTERS Washington, Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Iranian, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ethiopia

☆ Many culprits stole food aid in north Ethiopia, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Giulia Paravicini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, June 15 (Reuters) - Regional and federal government officials as well as Eritrean soldiers were involved in the theft of food aid in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, the head of an investigation by the Tigrayan authorities said on Thursday. The U.N. World Food Programme and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) paused food distribution last month in war-scarred Tigray because they said significant amounts of aid had been stolen. The two agencies then suspended food aid across all of Ethiopia last week for the same reason. An internal humanitarian memo said USAID believes food has been diverted to Ethiopian military units as part of a scheme orchestrated by federal and regional government entities. Ethiopia's army has denied its forces benefited from any stolen food aid.

Persons: General Fiseha Kidanu, Tigrai, Giulia Paravicini, Aaron Ross, Alex Richardson Organizations: Food, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Ethiopian, WFP, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Ethiopia's Tigray, Tigray, Ethiopia

☆ Meta must 'unplug the hate machine,' civil society groups say in open letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Tekendra Parmar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta faces a $1.6 billion lawsuit for allegedly failing to moderate hate speech in Ethiopia. The suit was brought by the family of a professor who was killed after Facebook posts targeted him. Insider's reporting also revealed that one of those trusted partners warned Meta about posts targeting Meareg Amare, a Tigrayan chemistry professor, in the fall of 2021. A spokesperson for Meta did not dispute the trusted partner's account, which was similar to complaints raised by five other trusted partners interviewed by Insider. The Facebook posts targeting Professor Amare falsely accused him of funneling funds and equipment to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which was fighting a civil war against Ethiopian federal forces and allied groups.

☆ Opinion: Six experts imagine an internet that women actually want
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Cnn Opinion | As Equals | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Women still have less access to the internet, with men being 21% more likely to be online than women globally. One reason for this is because being a girl, teenager, woman, trans or non-binary person makes us victims of digital violence. An internet women want is one where there is no fear to comment, to express an opinion, or publish photos of our bodies -- and where there are no limits simply because you are a woman on the internet. Women stood together internationally when Iranian women cut their hair , showing how the internet politicises women, sparks debates and builds international solidarity. Therefore, an internet that women want -- and that works for women -- needs to start by being affordable for women.

☆ Facebook depends on local partners to flag hateful content. In Ethiopia, those partners say they were ignored.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Tekendra Parmar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Trusted partners say warnings were ignoredInsider spoke with six current and former trusted partners from Ethiopia who said that Facebook routinely ignored their pleas to take down content that they deemed hateful or likely to incite violence. Some of the trusted partners declined to be named because they've faced death threats and fear for their own safety. Multiple trusted partners in Ethiopia said hate speech is still proliferating on the platform. Rafiq Copeland, a senior adviser at InterNews, one of Meta's longest-standing trusted partners globally, told Insider that the core complaints of trusted partners in Ethiopia have come up in other Rest of World countries. Even in Addis Ababa, it seemed that everyone knew about the Facebook posts, and many people now saw him as a traitor.

☆ Eritrea troops still on Ethiopian soil - U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Eritrean troops fought alongside the Ethiopian military and allied militias in the two-year conflict that pitted the Ethiopian government against rebellious forces in the northern region of Tigray. In November, however, the Ethiopia government and the Tigray forces signed an agreement to end the hostilities. The possible continuing presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray thus has been seen as a key obstacle to effective implementation of the deal. A senior Ethiopia military officer briefing foreign officials on Saturday denied there were any Eritrean troops in the country. A spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, Getachew Reda,dismissed claims that the Eritrean troops had left Tigray and said "thousands" were still there.

☆ Lavrov shores up Eritrean support for Russia over Ukraine conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NAIROBI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Thursday on a tour of Africa to shore up support for Russia, focusing on the "dynamics of the war in Ukraine", Eritrea's information minister said. "We are thankful to Eritrean friends for their consistent support of Russian initiatives in the UN," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS. The talks in Eritrea also explored ways of enhancing ties in energy, mining, information technology, education and health, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter late on Thursday. "The sad fact is that Ukraine is both a pretext and victim of this policy," Osman said during the speech delivered in Massawa. There was no mention of the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where Eritrean troops fought alongside their Ethiopian federal counterparts against rebellious Tigrayan forces.

☆ Eritrean troops seen leaving Ethiopian town of Shire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Tigray war is believed to have resulted in tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of deaths and forced millions to flee their homes. Witnesses and an Ethiopian official reported last month that Eritrean soldiers were leaving Shire and two other major towns, but many ended up staying behind. A Shire resident said the Eritrean convoys were seen leaving the town from early in the morning until about 5 p.m. on Friday. All Eritrean troops in the town seemed to have left by Friday evening, he said. A second aid worker said hundreds of Eritrean vehicles had left Shire but that some soldiers remained in the town.

☆ Tigray forces begin handing over heavy weapons to Ethiopian army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Abandoned ammunition boxes lie on the ground following a battle between the Ethiopian military and Tigray forces along the road between the village of Sheweate Hugum and Yechila town in south-central Tigray, Ethiopia, July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Giulia ParaviciniADDIS ABABA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Tigray forces, who fought a two-year war against Ethiopia's federal government, began handing over heavy weaponry to the national army as part of an African Union-led peace process on Tuesday. The demobilisation of Tigray forces is seen as central to the Nov. 2 ceasefire agreement, alongside the restoration of services, resumption of humanitarian aid and withdrawal of Eritrean troops, who fought alongside Ethiopia's army but were not party to the truce. The conflict created famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands of Tigray's population, killed thousands and displaced millions across northern Ethiopia. At the ceremony, Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) representative Mulugeta Gebrechristos said the start of the disarmament would play a major role in restoring peace.

☆ Eritrean soldiers leave major towns in northern Ethiopia - witnesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Eritrean soldiers, who fought in support of Ethiopia's federal government during its two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region, have pulled out of the major towns of Shire and Axum and headed toward the border, three witnesses told Reuters. It was not immediately clear if the Eritrean troops were leaving Tigray entirely or just pulling back from certain towns. Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, and Ethiopian national security advisor Redwan Hussien did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. Aid workers in Axum and Shire said they saw several trucks and dozens of cars packed with Eritrean soldiers on Thursday leaving toward the border town of Sheraro. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000, when the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which now leads the Tigrayan forces, dominated the federal government.

☆ Meta lawsuit: An Ethiopian professor was murdered by a mob. Son alleges Facebook fueled the violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The case is a constitutional petition filed in Kenya’s High Court, which has jurisdiction over the issue, as Facebook’s content moderation operation hub for much of east and south Africa is located in Nairobi. “They have suffered human rights violations as a result of the Respondent failing to take down Facebook posts that violated the bill of rights even after making reports to the Respondent,” reads the complaint. The legal filing alleges that Facebook has failed to invest adequately in content moderation in countries across Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, particularly from its hub in Nairobi. In a statement to CNN, Meta did not directly respond to the lawsuit:“We have strict rules which outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. Last year, whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, told the US Senate that the platform’s algorithm was “literally fanning ethnic violence” in Ethiopia.

☆ Ethiopia's Tigray forces say they have withdrawn 65% of fighters from frontlines
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - More than half of Tigrayan forces have withdrawn from the frontlines, the forces' top commander said, a month after a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the two-year conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. "We have accomplished 65% disengagement of our army," Tadesse Wereda, commander-in-chief of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said in a video posted on the forces' official Facebook page late on Saturday. War erupted in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region in November 2020, pitting the Tigrayan forces against federal troops and their allies that included fighters from the Amhara region that borders Tigray and Eritrean soldiers. Tadesse said TPLF was still maintaining fighters in some locations "where there is a presence of anti-peace forces". "Our forces are still on the ground in those places due to the problems they (anti-peace forces) are creating for our people.

☆ First international aid arrives in Ethiopia's Tigray since ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and Tigrayan forces signed a ceasefire on Nov. 2 to end two years of fighting that have killed thousands, shattered infrastructure and uprooted millions from their homes. The ICRC described the delivery into the regional capital Mekelle as the first international aid into Tigray since a previous ceasefire broke in August. We have discussed, agreed and signed," Abiy told Ethiopia's national parliament in his first comments on the ceasefire since it came into force. Abiy said on Tuesday that a territorial dispute between forces in Tigray and the neighbouring Amhara region should be resolved legally and through discussion. Authorities in Amhara last week welcomed the ceasefire agreement but made no mention of the disputed territory.

☆ Ethiopia combatants sign deal to start implementing truce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The deal will be put into effect "immediately", mediator Olusegun Obasanjo told a news conference before the signing. Both sides said they were committed to the declaration, stressing it was the only way to restore peace and stability. One of TPLF's representatives, General Tadesse Werede, said the declaration on implementation had given them hope that the suffering of the people in Tigray would end. The two sides agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities in an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough in South Africa on Nov. 2. Reporting by Ayenat Mersie, Writing by Duncan Miriri and Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Clelia OzielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. Representatives of Ethiopia's military and government and forces from Tigray are in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to discuss how to begin implementing the ceasefire, with the talks set to last three or four days. Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigray authorities, said the talks were to figure out implementation of the agreement. In a statement on Monday, the AU said it expected the outcomes of the talks to "include modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access and the restoration of services in the Tigray region". The ceasefire agreement says Ethiopia's army will safeguard the country against "foreign incursion" but analysts are worried about whether Eritrea - the TPLF's sworn enemy - will listen.

☆ NYC Marathon: 'Only God knows when we can meet,' says marathon runner Gotytom Gebreslase, cut off from her parents amid conflict in Ethiopia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It’s almost a year since marathon runner Gotytom Gebreslase last spoke to her parents over the phone, a detachment she feels most strongly during races. “My wish is to meet them soon – that would make me happy.”Gebreslase breaks the tape at the World Athletics Championships. Some reassurance over her parents’ safety arrived following Gebreslase’s victory at the world championships in July, when she came across a TV report featuring an interview with her mother. “The result I got in the world championships built my confidence,” she says. “When I started running, [my parents] didn’t discourage me, they were encouraging me – especially my mom,” says Gebreslase.

☆ For survivors of Ethiopia's Tigray war, truce brings cautious hope
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I'm very happy - because this will put a hold on the suffering," said a Tigrayan man in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa who declined to be named out of fear of repercussions at his place of work. All sides fighting in the Tigray war committed violations that may amount to war crimes, according to a joint investigation by the United Nations and Ethiopia's state-appointed human rights commission. We haven't even gotten any voice messages from him," the Tigrayan man in Addis Ababa told Reuters. Human Rights Watch, citing witnesses, said 23 civilians were killed by Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters in Kobo at that time. Just, literally everything," said Andom Gebreyesus, who ran a tour company in Tigray before the war.

☆ Ethiopia: Warring parties agree to a truce in two-year civil war. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. A year later, he launched a conflict that spiraled into a brutal civil war, spawning one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In November 2020, Abiy ordered a military offensive in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and promised that the clash would be resolved quickly. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Tigray conflict has its roots in tensions that go back generations in Ethiopia. For months at the start of the conflict, Abiy denied that civilians were being harmed or that soldiers from Eritrea had joined the fight.

☆ Ethiopia, Tigray: Warring parties agree on 'permanent cessation of hostilities'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Bethlehem Feleke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels will eventually be disarmed and demobilized, according to the statement. “This is not the end of the peace process but the beginning of it,” Obasanjo said. ‘Horrific’ tollThe peace process has been fitful until now. Renewed peace talks began on October 24, marking the first time the two warring parties had met publicly since the conflict erupted. In a separate statement, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also celebrated the conclusion of the talks saying, “our commitment to peace remains steadfast.

☆ Ethiopia government, Tigray forces to meet for first peace talks since conflict began
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoNAIROBI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian government delegation and rival Tigray forces were due to meet in South Africa for the first formal peace talks since war broke out two years ago. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine. Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the Tigray forces, said the Tigrayan delegation had already arrived. Both sides had committed to the talks in South Africa earlier this month, but they were delayed for logistical reasons. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nairobi Newsroom Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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