Thursday, March 28News That Matters

Tag: Ethiopia

Ethiopia PM Abiy Refutes Claims Army Killed Unarmed Civilians In Tigray

Ethiopia PM Abiy Refutes Claims Army Killed Unarmed Civilians In Tigray

FEATURED, NEWS
By Our Reporter Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed  has refuted claims that the country’s army massacred innocent, unarmed civilians in Tigray. Abiy said federal troops had not killed a single civilian in their nearly month-long offensive against regional forces in Tigray. He also assured Parliament on Monday that the army would not destroy Mekelle, capital of Tigray, after announcing its capture yesterday. The Ethiopian government has been trying to quell a rebellion by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a powerful ethnically based party that dominated the central government for nearly three decades until Abiy came to power in 2018. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed since the fighting began, more than 43,000 have fled to neighbouring Sud...
Ethiopia Withdraws Thousands of her Troops from Somalia

Ethiopia Withdraws Thousands of her Troops from Somalia

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics
 Ethiopia pulled back thousands of troops who’ve been helping Somalia’s government fight an Islamist insurgency, according to three people familiar with the matter, raising concerns of a security vacuum in the war-torn nation. Their departure from Somalia comes as federal soldiers continue to battle forces loyal to the ruling party in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump told top advisers he’s also considering extracting U.S. troops from Somalia. Ethiopia is redeploying about 3,000 troops to help with the Tigray offensive, the people said, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media. The troops being withdrawn are Ethiopian National Defence Force soldiers and don’t fall under the command of the...
Military leaders Mark End of U.S. Marines Engagement in Uganda

Military leaders Mark End of U.S. Marines Engagement in Uganda

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics
U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Crisis Response-Africa 20.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, and members of the Uganda People's Defense Force celebrate in Camp Singo, Uganda, in February. American and Ugandan military leaders held a virtual ceremony this week marking the end of a U.S. Marine engagement with Uganda as part of that nation's six-year participation in the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership. Major Gen. Stephen M. Neary, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa spoke by video teleconference with Brig. Gen. Peter Omola, the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Center Commandant and his soldiers. While the overall APRRP effort is not ending, the event marked th...
Armed Militia Kill Over 30 Civilians In Ethiopia

Armed Militia Kill Over 30 Civilians In Ethiopia

FEATURED, NEWS
By Our Reporter A gang of yet to be identified armed militia men killed over 30 people in the Metakal zone of Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, a senior opposition leader told the media Thursday, the latest security headache for reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The attacks, whose victims included women and children, happened between September 6-13, 2020, said Desalegn Chane, a senior member of new political party the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA). “Farmers and members of their families were kidnapped (and) brought to an elementary school in the area where they were handcuffed and shot one by one,” Desalegn said. Abiy said a meeting on Thursday of the federal and regional authorities had “evaluated the sporadic security incidents that have been occurrin...
Stalemate: Egypt, Sudan Suspend Nile Dam Talks

Stalemate: Egypt, Sudan Suspend Nile Dam Talks

FEATURED, NEWS
By Our Reporter Egypt withdrew from the Nile dam talks scheduled for today with Ethiopia, claiming that the proposal put forth by the nation lacked regulations on dam operations and any legal mechanism for settling disputes. Sudan also threatened to step out in rejection of the idea of sharing Bule Nile waters. Both nations have demanded that talks be suspended for internal consultations on the proposal terms, which goes against the previous agreement during the African Union summit. Egypt and Sudan invoke a "historic right" over the river put in place by treaties established in 1929 and 1959. Ethiopia, on the other hand, refers to a treaty signed in 2010 - boycotted by Egypt and Sudan, but signed by six riverside countries which authorised irrigation projects and dams on...
African Union Mission In Somalia Gets New Commander

African Union Mission In Somalia Gets New Commander

FEATURED
By Keefa Nuwahereza The African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has Wednesday August 5th, 2020 ushered in a new force commander, who welcomed in Mogadishu by senior officers and men of the force. Lieutenant General Diomede Ndegeya, who arrived in Somalia on Sunday, will lead a force mainly from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The countries have been enforcing order in Somalia for over a decade now, with support from the United Nations and African Union. The Commander, who is no stranger to the country, will have to confront the unending Al shaab attacks and the frequent claims of the presence of non-AMISOM troops in Somalia. Gen. Diomede Ndegeya (in suit) poses for a photo with other AMISOM senior officers With a career spanning 38 years, General Ndegeya, 57, previously s...
80 Shot Dead After Bloody Protests Break Out At Ethiopian Singer Hundeessaa’s Funeral

80 Shot Dead After Bloody Protests Break Out At Ethiopian Singer Hundeessaa’s Funeral

FEATURED, NEWS
By Elite News Reporter Security is high in the Ethiopian town of Ambo, after government deployed heavily for the funeral of popular musician and activist Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, whose killing in Addis Ababa earlier this week sparked two days of protests that killed more than 80 people. A farewell ceremony began on Thursday with well-wishers laying wreaths in Ambo stadium and mourning the death of the 34-year-old musician from the ethnic Oromo group, Ethiopia's largest. He will be laid to rest later at a church in Ambo, some 100km (60 miles) west of the capital. "Haacaaluu is not dead. He will remain in my heart and the hearts of millions of Oromo people forever," Santu Demisew Diro, his wife, said. "I request a monument erected in his memory in Addis [Ababa] where his blood was spi...
Protests Break Out  After Ethiopian Singer Hachalu Hundessa Is Shot Dead In Addis Ababa

Protests Break Out After Ethiopian Singer Hachalu Hundessa Is Shot Dead In Addis Ababa

FEATURED, NEWS
By Elite News Reporter Protests have erupted in Ethiopia after the police announced the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular musician and activist, who was shot dead in the capital, Addis Ababa. Hachalu was an ethnic Oromo musician known for his protest songs. He was shot in the capital's Gelan Condominiums area late on Monday, Addis Ababa's police commissioner Geta Argaw said. Argaw said police had arrested several suspects, the state-affiliated Fana broadcaster reported. On Tuesday morning, angry youth in Addis Ababa lit fires, blocked roads and chanted slogans as protests also broke out in other parts of Ethiopia. Meanwhile, internet connectivity in the country of almost 110 million people appeared to be down, a common occurrence during political protests. Prime Minis...
Back Off: Sudan Rejects Ethiopia’s Proposal To Sign Nile Mega-dam Agreement

Back Off: Sudan Rejects Ethiopia’s Proposal To Sign Nile Mega-dam Agreement

FEATURED, NEWS
By Elite Reporter Sudan has rejected an Ethiopian proposal to sign an initial agreement greenlighting the filling of a controversial mega-dam, calling its neighbour to resume the stalled United States-brokered negotiations on the issue. On Tuesday, Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said he refused to sign a "partial agreement" for the dam's filling due to the absence of coordinated planning and outstanding "technical and legal issues" dealing with the dam's "environmental and social impacts". Sudan and Egypt fear the disputed $4.6bn dam on the Nile will trap their essential water supplies once it starts being filled in July as planned by Ethiopia. In a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart, Hamdok also stressed the need to reach an agreement among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia b...