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Somali men ‘forced into Eritrean army’ under impression they were signing up for security jobs in Qatar

The Telegraph | The men are thought to be being sent to Tigray to fight in Ethiopia’s civil war. Anger is mounting in Somalia over allegations young men are being secretly recruited and sent to Eritrea to fight in Ethiopia’s civil war. Three families told Reuters their young sons had officially been recruited by Somalia’s […]

Were Orthodox Christians massacred in Ethiopia?

American Magazine | The Jesuit Review | Kevin Clarke With journalists, aid workers and U.N. officials largely cut off and local internet and mobile services blocked, much remains unknown about what has been happening in Ethiopia’s Tigray region over the last three months, but accounts emerging from farmers and villagers escaping the fighting between Tigrayan militia […]

Violence in Tigray causes untold suffering

MSF | Relief Web | Since early November, a military escalation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has caused widespread violence and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Albert Viñas, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), provided the following account today: Almost three months after the start of the conflict, I am […]

A pogrom is happening in Ethiopia

The Globe & Mail | Robert Rotberg  Ethiopia is killing its own citizens, wantonly. That is chilling, but true: By attempting to extirpate Ethiopians of Tigrayan ethnicity and heritage, Ethiopia’s military and government stands accused of purposeful ethnic cleansing, a precursor to all-out genocide, as outlawed by the UN convention against genocide. Upholders of world […]

US ‘Directly’ Presses Eritrea to Withdraw Forces From Tigray

Associated Press — The United States says it has directly “pressed senior levels” of Eritrea’s government to immediately withdraw its troops from neighboring Ethiopia, where witnesses have described them looting and hunting down civilians in the embattled Tigray region. A State Department spokesperson in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday said Washington has […]

Joint NGO Letter call for a Special Session on the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia

28 January 2021 | OPEN LETTER | To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland Your Excellency, We, the undersigned human rights non-governmental organizations, strongly support the call for a UN Human Rights Council (HRC) special session on the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia and urge your delegation […]

Ethiopia’s leader won the Nobel Peace Prize. Now he’s accused of war crimes.

Washingtonpost (Opinion)  — FIFTEEN MONTHS ago Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending his country’s conflict with neighboring Eritrea. Now he may be perpetrating grave crimes against humanity. After launching an invasion of the rebellious province of Tigray, Mr. Abiy’s regime stands accused of sealing off the region and […]

Anger in Somalia as sons secretly sent to serve in Eritrea military force

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Ali Jamac Dhoodi thought his son was working as a security guard in Qatar, helping prepare for next year’s soccer World Cup. Then one day last April, officials from Somalia’s National Intelligence Agency arrived with $10,000 in cash. They told him his son had died – not in Qatar, but in Eritrea, […]

Ethiopia’s peace laureate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sees a reversal of fortune as war and atrocities tarnish reputation

The Globe & Mail | Less than a year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strolled through a verdant garden in Addis Ababa with the world’s newest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. As they enjoyed a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony in Unity Park, on the site of a former imperial palace, Mr. Trudeau must […]

Tigray crisis: Biden administration calls for Eritrea troops to withdraw

BBC | The US has called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. “Credible reports” had emerged of their involvement in human rights abuses, including sexual violence and looting, the state department said. This is its first statement on the conflict since the Joe Biden administration took office last week. Both […]