“United Nations security team seeking to visit a camp for Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region was denied access and shot at.”

Source: Reuters

These include a Kenyan minister and a general in Somalia.

There are reported to have been around 20 deaths in the fighting

This is another source:

It is in line with a trend reported by Rashid Abdi on 13 November.

It is also very much in line with the treatment of Tigrayans in other fields – like Ethiopian Airlines.

Ethnic profiling.

Very sad. Very discriminatory.

Source: Dabanga

Sudan’s army regains control of border region after 25 years

Source: Radio Sweden

• Sweden’s silent diplomacy must be examined by an independent commission of inquiry, according to the Riksdag’s [Legislature] Foreign Affairs Committee.
• The notable cases involving Gui Minhai in China and Dawit Isaak are the starting point for the Commission.
• All parliamentary parties are behind this announcement to the government, which will be hammered out by the Riksdag in mid-January.

---

Background: Reporters Without Borders appeal for a commission into Dawit Isaak

Prisoner of Conscience Since 2001 – Why has Sweden not managed to bring Dawit Isaak home?

© Therese Nilsson

ORGANISATION

RSF_en

A week after filing a crime against humanity complaint for Dawit Isaak, and as the Eritrean-Swedish journalist celebrates his 56th birthday in detention today 27 October, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes a report on the lack of Swedish efforts to free the journalist.

During his almost two decades of captivity, Swedish diplomats have been denied access to the Swedish citizen Dawit Isaak. Since 2005, no independent party has been allowed to meet him and confirm that he is still alive. It is uncertain whether Dawit Isaak has even been told what he is being accused of – he has never been given a chance to defend himself before a court of law.

Sweden has an obligation to try all available legal and diplomatic means to bring its national home. Yet, the Swedish MFA’s first reaction to the news that a then 36-year-old Swedish citizen and father of three named Dawit Isaak had been arrested in Eritrea was one of disinterest.

Since then – as RSF Sweden and other organizations pressured the Swedish government to act – Dawit Isaak’s case has been made a priority. But a new report by RSF Sweden, launched on Dawit Isaak’s birthday on the 27th of October, uncovers a lack of effort on the Swedish part.

The report, entitled Prisoner of Conscience Since 2001 – Why has Sweden not managed to bring Dawit Isaak home?, examines what has and has not been done to secure his release. “Other countries have been more robust both in statements and measures taken against the Eritrean regime, even though it is in fact Sweden that has a prisoner of conscience in Eritrea”, says Björn Tunbäck, board member of RSF Sweden, in it.

Eritrean officials have made a habit out of occasionally giving the Swedish MFA false hopes that Dawit Isaak is to be released, which has forced Swedish officials to a precarious balancing act.

Wary of jeopardizing Dawit Isaak’s freedom, Sweden has essentially been made to dance to Eritrea’s tune. The report concludes that Eritrea, in several respects, has benefitted both politically and financially from keeping Dawit Isaak imprisoned.

For example:

• Sweden has repeatedly refrained from making demands regarding Dawit Isaak when the EU made decisions on development aid to Eritrea.
• Twice, the Swedish Prosecutor-General, in accordance with the expressed wishes of the MFA, has decided against launching criminal investigations against Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki.
• The MFA has also advised the Swedish development agency Sida against providing financial support to Radio Erena, Eritrea’s only independent radio station which broadcasts from France.
• Unlike other countries, Sweden has not heeded the UN’s call to curb the Eritrean regime’s tax collection from Eritreans residing abroad.
• In the UN Security Council, Sweden has worked to have sanctions against Eritrea lifted.

Dawit Isaak has been imprisoned for almost 20 years, a case which sparked great public interest. Yet, documents relating to the issue are classified and the MFA is reluctant to comment on ongoing efforts. To make things happen, on 21 October RSF filed a complaint with the Swedish Prosecution accusing the Eritrean president of crimes against humanity.

RSF Sweden calls for a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the MFA’s efforts for Dawit Isaak, which would be able to answer the question whether Sweden has fulfilled its legal obligation towards its imprisoned citizen – and also make recommendations on what further steps are necessary in order to finally bring Dawit Isaak home.

“We welcome the proposal for a parliamentary inquiry which was recently presented to the Swedish Parliament and call on all MPs to support it. We also urge the European Commission to consider the resolution about tougher measures against Eritrea that the European Parliament has adopted. Enough is enough”, says RSF Sweden president Erik Halkjaer.

Eritrea is ranked 178th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF’s Annual Index

Addis Ababa (AFP)

The United Nations said Friday that fighting continued “in many parts” of Ethiopia’s Tigray, complicating efforts to deliver humanitarian aid despite a deal granting the UN access to territory under federal control.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations in the northern region a month ago, saying they targeted the leaders of its ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). 

Last week he declared victory, saying fighting was “completed” after federal forces entered the regional capital Mekele. But the TPLF has vowed to fight on. 

“We have reports of fighting still going on in many parts of Tigray. This is concerning and it’s a complex situation for us,” Saviano Abreu, spokesman for the UN’s humanitarian coordination office, told AFP. 

The conflict has claimed thousands of lives, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, and tens of thousands of refugees have streamed across the border into Sudan. 

The UN has been warning of a possible humanitarian catastrophe within Tigray, though a communications blackout has made it difficult to assess conditions on the ground. 

On Wednesday the UN announced it had reached an agreement to administer aid in areas of Tigray that were government-controlled.

But as of Friday, security assessments were still being conducted and three UN officials told AFP that aid was not expected to arrive before next week.

– ‘No access’ –

“Basically, at the moment there is no access,” one official said, arguing that the UN and the government “should have held off” on announcing the deal until preparations were further along.

“When you go public in the fashion they did, it creates expectations for people who think, ‘Access has been given, why is help not reaching us?'” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. 

The UN is continuing to negotiate “with all parties to the conflict” to ensure unfettered access, Abreu said. 

“We have been granted this access, this agreement with the federal government. But we also have to have the same kind of agreement with all parties to the conflict to make sure we actually have unconditional free access to Tigray,” he said. 

He stressed that some aid was still being administered. 

“Hundreds of humanitarians are still on the ground doing all they can to provide assistance to people affected by the conflict and those who were already in need before the fighting,” he said.

– Refugee safety –

Of particular concern is the fate of roughly 96,000 Eritrean refugees who before the conflict were living in camps in northern Tigray in areas reported to have seen heavy fighting.

The UN earlier this week issued a public appeal for the government to allow aid into the camps, which are believed to have run out of food. 

A government official told AFP there was likely a “buffer” of food supplies that would last through the week. 

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is eager to get food, medicine and other supplies to refugees and host communities as soon as possible, Ethiopia representative Ann Encontre told AFP Friday.

It also wants to assess “very grim” reports on the security of the camps, which it has been unable to verify because of the communications blackout, Encontre said. 

“We’ve heard of deaths of refugees, we’ve heard of some being forced into conscription. We’ve heard of abductions,” she said. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported Sunday that “some 1,000 Eritrean refugees have reportedly arrived in Mekele from refugee camps around Shire” in northern Tigray. 

This week several Eritrean refugees previously living in Tigray also turned up in Sudan, Encontre said.

– Fighting ‘invaders’ –

The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to power in 2018. 

The party then complained of being sidelined, and tensions escalated dramatically after Tigray went ahead with regional elections in September — defying a nationwide ban on polls because of the coronavirus pandemic — and sought to brand Abiy an illegitimate leader. 

Tigrayan head Debretsion Gebremichael has vowed to continue fighting as long as federal “invaders” are on Tigrayan soil. 

On Thursday he said fighting occurred “around Mekele”, and several diplomats also told AFP that clashes persisted in multiple locations in Tigray. 

State media this week broadcast what it said were the first images of Mekele since federal forces took over, though they could not be independently verified.

In an interview with Tigrayan media this week, senior TPLF member Getachew Reda called for a massive youth mobilisation to fend off Ethiopian forces he said were backed by Eritrean soldiers, something Ethiopia denies. 

“Our youth, our militia should rise and deploy to battle by the tens of thousands,” Getachew said.

© 2020 AFP