Regional Peace Forum in Ethiopia Postponed Amid Ongoing Clashes
The Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa had originally been scheduled for mid-October in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, but will be postponed until April 2024 “due to unforeseen circumstances;” Amhara has experienced months of violence between the government and regional fighters (AP)
War Crimes Continue in Ethiopia Despite Peace Deal
UN human rights experts found that at least ten thousand people were affected by rape and other sexual violence and warned that the violence could spread further into East Africa (AP)
U.S. Government Contractor Charged With Spying for Ethiopia
Abraham T. Lemma, a contractor who worked for the U.S. Departments of State and Justice, was arrested and charged with spying for Ethiopia, according to U.S. officials (NYT)
Ethiopian Soldiers Kill Two Dozen Civilians in House Searches
About two dozen civilians in the Amhara region were killed in house-to-house searches by Ethiopian forces searching for the assailants from a recent attack on federal forces (Reuters)
UN: Clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region Have Killed at Least 183 Since July
Violence broke out in July between the army and a regional militia despite the end of Ethiopia’s war in Tigray, Amhara’s neighboring region (France24)
More than one thousand people have been detained across Ethiopia under new emergency powers related to the clashes, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office said; the office has called for an end to the killings and arbitrary arrests (OHCHR)
Amhara Blast Kills Twenty-Six, Injures Fifty
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blast; the region has been rife with clashes between government forces and a local militia known as Fano in recent months (CNN)
Government Re-Establishes Control in Amhara’s Regional Capital
After fierce fighting, security forces recaptured Bahir Dar and five other towns from Fano rebel forces and began clearing roadblocks; however, observers fear the rebels may adopt guerilla strategies and continue to fight in the countryside (AP)
Ethiopian Military Pushes Back Militia in Amhara
Residents reported that the government retook two towns in the first breakthrough of its offensive (Reuters)
Fighting Continues in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region
Clashes between government forces and a militia in the Amhara region continued over the weekend, with the director of Ethiopia’s national intelligence service saying yesterday that militia members were seeking to overthrow the regional and federal government (Reuters)
Ethiopia Declares State of Emergency in Amhara
The emergency declaration follows clashes between the military and a local militia and grants officials the power to make arrests without warrants and impose curfews (Reuters)
Ethiopian Military Clashes with Militia in Amhara, Dozens Injured
Fighting reportedly broke out after Ethiopia’s military tried to expel the Fano militia group from certain areas, but Fano responded by taking another town; the militia previously allied with the government to fight Tigrayan forces but relations have since soured as the central government tries to assert authority and Fano alleges disregard for Amhara’s security (Reuters)
The fighting has disrupted flights to the region (Bloomberg)
Ethiopia’s Military Clashes With Militia From Amhara Region
The part-time militia Fano supported Ethiopia’s military campaign in the Tigray region that ended last year, but relations have since worsened over accusations that the government is disregarding Amhara’s security; a local hospital received three people with serious injuries following clashes between Fano fighters and the country’s military in the Amhara region this week (Reuters)
World Bank President Visits Ethiopia
Ajay Banga begins a two-day visit to Ethiopia today as part of efforts to increase private investment in the country, the Bank said; he is expected to focus on creating job opportunities for youth and women (Ethiopian Monitor)
United Nations Urges Ethiopia to Cease Deportations of Eritrean Refugees
The investigators said the expulsions, as well as arbitrary detention of migrants, are illegal under international law; Ethiopia and Eritrea have long had strained relations, but they fought together in Tigray (Reuters)
Satellite Images Shed Light on Massacres in Tigray
The images show graves at the site of a massacre carried out by Eritrean troops during the war in Tigray (WaPo)
Ethiopia PM Vows to Disband Paramilitaries
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the illegal groups threaten national unity as the country tries to move on from war (AFP)
Study: Ethiopian War Was the World’s Deadliest Conflict in 2022
One hundred thousand people lost their lives in Ethiopia last year, closely followed by eighty-three thousand in Ukraine, a new study by the Institute for Economics and Peace said, calculating that war and violence cost the world 12.9 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), with total conflict deaths at their highest this century (DW)
Meanwhile, in the four months since Ethiopia implemented a social media ban in response to a rift between the state and the Orthodox Church, civil rights groups and businesses have struggled to circulate and receive accurate information (VOA)
Hunger Kills Hundreds in Ethiopia’s Tigray After Aid Pause
At least seven hundred people have died of hunger in recent weeks in Tigray province following a U.S. and UN pause in food aid that has affected twenty million people in need (AP)
First Deaths by Starvation Reported After International Food Aid Suspension in Ethiopia
The United States and United Nations suspended food rations in some parts of the country almost three months ago after reports of large-scale theft, and the U.S. Agency for International Development went on to suspend all food aid to the country earlier this month; they called for Ethiopia’s government to relinquish its control over food distribution and said the aid could resume as early as July (AP; AP)
World Food Programme Hopes to Resume Food Aid to Ethiopia By July
In the meantime, the World Food Programme aims to establish control over the identification of aid beneficiaries following investigations that found evidence of soldiers stealing food (Reuters)
Investigation Finds Federal, Regional Officials and Eritrean Soldiers Stole Food Aid
A probe by officials in the Tigray region found that Ethiopian government officials and Eritrean soldiers were responsible for the theft of food aid that prompted UN and U.S. donors to freeze its distribution (Reuters)
Human Rights Commission Calls for End to Forced Disappearances in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian commission says unexplained arrests and abductions are on the rise in Oromia and Amhara, as well as the capital, following the end of hostilities in the country (VOA)
Hundreds of Imprisoned Soldiers Still Missing in Ethiopia
A lack of transparency and available information has led observers to criticize Addis Ababa’s transitional justice efforts, saying that the government has not engaged armed groups and victims in dialogue (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Suspends Food Aid to Ethiopia, Citing Theft
Ethiopian government officials appeared to have orchestrated the widespread theft of food aid, a coalition of foreign donors including the United States said; U.S. contributions feed an estimated 12 million people in Ethiopia, where 20 million people depend on food aid amid civil conflict and drought (NYT)
Tigray Protests Oppose Foreign Troop Presence
Thousands across the region peacefully protested the continued presence of soldiers from Eritrea and Amhara, whom local authorities complain have hindered monitoring of the peace deal’s implementation (Al Jazeera)