Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 57 – 16 January 2021

Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peace building, refugee protection and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean […]

Will Somalia Be Collateral Damage of Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict?

Source: World Politics Review | Peter Kirechu In November, as the Ethiopian government escalated its military campaign against the northern Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed quietly ordered a drawdown of Ethiopian peacekeepers from neighboring Somalia. The scale of the move is still unconfirmed, but as many as 3,000 Ethiopian troops were reportedly redeployed to fight against […]

Massacre ‘of 750’ reported in Aksum church complex, Tigray, Ethiopia

Source: Church Times | Rebecca Paveley Reports of a massacre of 750 people in the cathedral complex that reputedly houses the Ark of the Covenant have emerged from the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Accounts have come from those who fled the town of Aksum and walked more than 200km to the regional capital, Mekelle. The […]

EU suspends Ethiopian budget support over Tigray crisis

Source: Reuters The European Union has suspended budget support for Ethiopia worth 88 million euros ($107 million) until humanitarian agencies are granted access to people in need of aid in the northern Tigray region. In a blog post published on Friday, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed now needed […]

Mysterious Wheat Deals Complicate Hunger Fight in Ethiopia

Source: Bloomberg | Samuel Gebre, Agnieszka de Sousa and Simon Marks Nation scrapped import tenders for grain after no progress Ethiopia is seeking outside assistance to help feed its people Back in November, Ethiopia unveiled two deals to buy deeply discounted wheat from suppliers that seasoned traders had never heard of. A website named for one […]

In Memoriam: Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopian Peacemaker and Patriot

Source: World Peace Foundations | Alex de Waal Seyoum Mesfin, who was killed in Tigray this week at the age of 71, was Ethiopia’s longest-serving foreign minister. His untimely death robs Ethiopia of a man who exemplified the country’s tradition of enlightened and progressive patriotism. Under other circumstances we would expect a national day of […]

Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 56 – 15 January 2021

Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peace building, refugee protection and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean […]

Trump’s Withdrawal From Somalia Is a Security Threat. Biden Should Reverse It

Source: Foreign Policy | Abdi Yusuf U.S. troops are scheduled to leave the country on Jan. 15, opening the door for al-Shabab terrorists to step up their attacks. The new administration should recommit to protecting the country. Years of hard-fought gains to stabilize Somalia and defeat the al-Shabab terrorist group are now endangered by President […]

Dozens Die in Ethnic Massacre in Troubled Ethiopian Region

Source: The New York Times | Simon Marks and Declan Walsh It was the latest of several bloody outbursts over the past year in the western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, along the border with Sudan, where ethnic tensions are running high. At least 80 people were killed on Tuesday when unidentified gunmen stormed through a village […]

Without U.S. Aid, Where Would Egypt Turn?

Terminating U.S. aid to Cairo would jeopardize the long-standing U.S.-Egyptian relationship and regional stability for years to come. As a candidate, Joe Biden issued a stern warning to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, pledging “no more blank checks for Trump’s favorite dictator.” Biden and his team have signaled they would limit or in some cases halt […]