Foreign Policy | The 1994 Ethiopian Constitution celebrated self-determination, but it laid the groundwork for today’s violence. Devolution could offer a way out. On Nov. 28, 2020, Ethiopia’s military took control of Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, after a monthlong fight with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Before the conflict, the Tigray region […]
Project Syndicate | Mehari Taddele Maru | When a state fails to prevent or alleviate atrocities within its territory, or if the state itself is the primary perpetrator of such acts, the UN must not stand idly by. There are five reasons why immediate action by the Security Council regarding Ethiopia’s northern region is necessary. […]
The National News | Prime minister faces civil war, ethnic divisions and simmering disputes with neighbours. For Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the promise and optimism he projected when he took the reins in the Horn of Africa nation three years ago must have become a fading memory. Those expectations have been replaced by a civil war, […]
The Washingtonpost | Alexi Drew and Claire Wilmot | Claims about disinformation may be undermining online activism. Nearly three months have passed since the conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began. Despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s assurance that the military operation ended in late November, the conflict in Tigray is far from over. U.N. officials this week […]
World Peace Foundation | Alex de Waal | 14.12.2020 Today, the UN Security Council members are expected to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Tigray. It’s a matter for UN Security Council urgent business for several reasons. First, it’s an internationalized crisis: there are over 45,000 refugees in Sudan and within weeks there could be three […]
NYT | The authorities said there were reports of at least two dead and 11 injured at the Afrik Hotel. A militant group, the Shabab, was believed to be behind the attack. NAIROBI, Kenya — Militants with the extremist group al-Shabab stormed a major hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday evening, the authorities said, […]
MEMO | The United Arab Emirates is waging a war for influence over the Horn of Africa. Since the 2011 Arab Spring the United Arab Emirates has been taking an active role in a number of hotspots from Egypt, Libya to Yemen. The Gulf nation has spent $26 billion annually on its defence budget since […]
Eritrea Hub | (Amharic version | Tigrigna audio) Let me first express my utmost respect and sincerest appreciation to you, the people of Tigray, as I speak to you directly from the heart of our embattled Tigray while in the middle of defending it. Ladies and Gentlemen, As our people defend their safety and security […]
The Washington Free Bacon | Millions in peril of starvation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the State Department Thursday to demand the Biden administration take immediate action in Ethiopia to combat a humanitarian crisis that has left thousands dead. The protesters called on newly confirmed secretary of state Antony Blinken to […]
MEMO Opinion | State fragility is a multidimensional concept that is often characterized by deficiencies in one or more areas of the core functions of the state: legitimacy, authority (competing claimants to power), and capacity (weak capacity to provide basic government functions). State fragility poses a serious problem for many developing countries as it leads […]