The UN’s World Food Program reported that one of its trucks was hit with debris from an apparent drone strike as it was traveling to aid newly displaced people in the Zana district; the attack came after the Ethiopian government claimed Tigrayan forces were using UN-labeled trucks to transport fighters and warned humanitarian organizations against operating in the region (AP)
Drone Strike in Tigrayan Capital Kills One
Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle told reporters that a sixty-year-old cattle herder died on the way to the hospital after being injured by a drone strike in the city’s Adi Hawsi area (Reuters)
Tigray Region Faces Outbreak of Deadly Diseases as Vaccination Rates Plummet
The ongoing civil war in the Tigray region has led to a significant drop in vaccination rates causing childhood diseases such as measles, tetanus, and whooping cough to resurface (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the gap between Ethiopia’s official and black-market exchange rates has reached a record high as the country faces a foreign currency shortage (Bloomberg)
Speculation of Eritrean Offensive in Tigray
Forces in the Tigray region claimed that Eritrean troops have crossed the border and launched a full-scale offensive, with additional sources confirming the breakout of intense fighting along the border on Tuesday (Reuters)
Separately, the Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, published a report confirming that the Federal Government of Ethiopia and its allies have committed crimes against humanity in the Tigray region and warned of the further risk of atrocities should violence resume (OHCHR)
Air Strikes on Ethiopia’s Tigray Region Kill Ten People
Drone attacks hit a residential neighborhood in Tigray’s capital of Mekelle, a hospital executive said. The strikes came after Tigrayan forces said they were open to cease-fire talks (Al Jazeera)
Ethiopia’s Tigrayan Rebels Say They’re Ready for Peace Talks
The fighters’ previous resistance to talks had prevented a proposed African Union–led peace process (AFP)
Ethiopia Tasks UN with Rebuilding Tigray Infrastructure
The Ethiopian government announced that it has tasked implementers from the United Nations to mobilize World Bank funding to rebuild Tigray infrastructure destroyed in the conflict between rebels and security forces (Agence France-Presse)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Accuses OLA Rebels of New Massacre
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels of a massacre in the Oromia state as its fighters retreated from an offensive by security forces; while one witness estimated three hundred killings, a communications blackout and restricted entry have obscured the veracity of official claims (Al Jazeera)
This comes as mass protests erupted in the northern Amhara region over the previous June 18 massacre and the government’s failure to address worsening ethnic violence (Al Jazeera)
More Than Two Hundred Massacred by Ethiopian Rebel Group, According to Witnesses
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group that has joined forces with the Tigrayan minority against the Ethiopian government, reportedly massacred more than two hundred members of the Amharic ethnic majority; while official reports and witness accounts affirm OLA responsibility, the group has denied being behind the attack (New York Times)
Thirty-Five Children in Ethiopia Die Amid Drought, Conflict
Thirty-five children have died amid drought and conflict in the Afar region in recent weeks, aid workers said; a government official has denied any deaths due to food shortages (Associated Press)
Largest Hospital in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region Suspends Services
After eighteen months of war, the hospital suspended regular operations due to power outages and lack of medicine (BBC)
More Than Four Thousand People Detained in Ethiopian State Amhara
Ethiopia carried out the arrests as part of a wider effort to exert control over Amhara state and its military, which had been aligned with Ethiopia in the country’s military offensive in Tigray (Bloomberg, Reuters)
High-profile General, Journalists, Militiamen, and Activists Arrested in Ethiopia
A prominent Ethiopian general who voiced criticism of the Ethiopian government was arrested amid the reported arrests of two militiamen, five journalists, and nine members of an opposition party (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced they would release over four thousand prisoners of war (Al Jazeera)
World Bank Approves $300 Million Grant for Ethiopia Reconstruction
The grant will be spent on supporting conflict-affected communities in the regions of Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia, and Tigray (Addis Standard)
Tigrayan Forces Reportedly Withdraw from Ethiopia’s Afar Region
According to a spokesperson for the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), all Tigrayan forces are completely withdrawing from Ethiopia’s Afar region (Reuters)
Main Hospital in Ethiopia’s Tigray Runs Out of Food
More than 240 patients have been sent home after Ayder Referral Hospital in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle ran out of food, underscoring how little food aid has reached the region despite a recent truce (Reuters)
New Aid Convoy En Route to Tigray
According to the UN, a new aid convoy consisting of forty-seven trucks and three fuel tankers is headed to Tigray following the recent humanitarian truce (Agence France-Presse)
Rights Groups Accuse Ethiopian Forces of Ethnic Cleansing
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused officials, security forces, and paramilitaries from Ethiopia’s Amhara region of carrying out an ethnic-cleansing campaign in the neighboring Tigray region; they also accused federal forces of being complicit (Reuters)
Humanitarian Aid Enters Tigray
A humanitarian convoy carrying food aid entered Tigray-controlled territory for the first time since December 2021 (Associated Press)
Fighting in Ethiopia’s Afar Region Threatens Cease-Fire
Multiple diplomats and regional officials reported that fighting has continued in Ethiopia’s Afar region, even after the government unilaterally declared a cease-fire last week (Reuters)
Tigray Agrees to Respect Ethiopian Government’s Ceasefire
Tigrayan forces said they will respect the ceasefire proposed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as long as humanitarian assistance is delivered “within reasonable time” (Reuters)
Ethiopia Declares Immediate Truce, Allows Aid into Tigray
The Ethiopian government declared an immediate, unilateral truce in Tigray in an effort to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance (Bloomberg)
UN: Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia Deteriorates
Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief, said more than three hundred people have been killed by airstrikes and more than three hundred rapes had been reported in northern Ethiopia since November (Reuters)
Gunmen Kill Five Eritrean Refugees in Northeastern Ethiopia
At least five Eritrean refugees were killed during an attack on a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region during fighting between Tigrayan and Afar forces (Reuters)
Ethiopia Ends State of Emergency Early
Ethiopian lawmakers voted to end a six-month state of emergency after only three months as war in Tigray continues. Regional Tigray forces pulled back in December after a large-scale offensive by the government (Associated Press)