APRIL 26, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Replies by the British Government to questions tabled by Lord David Alton

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL14676):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to monitor the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from the Trigray region following the announcement by the prime minister of Ethiopia in March. (HL14676)

Tabled on: 12 April 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:

Eritrea’s role in the conflict is particularly concerning; there are numerous reports of atrocities involving Eritrean forces, and the presence of Eritrean forces is fuelling insecurity. These forces must leave Ethiopia immediately, in line with the commitment made by Prime Minister Abiy in his announcement on 26 March of their withdrawal. We are clear that their withdrawal must be swift, unconditional and verifiable. We have yet to see any evidence that Eritrean forces are leaving Tigray.

Date and time of answer: 26 Apr 2021 at 12:53.

Subject: Written answer to your QWA HL14678 received from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL14678):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the influence and role of the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (1) in the Horn of Africa, and (2) in brokering a peace agreement between the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea; and what discussions they have with the government of (a) Saudi Arabia, and (b) the United Arab Emirates, about the conflict in Tigray. (HL14678)

Tabled on: 12 April 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:

The Governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have a clear interest in the security and prosperity of the Horn of Africa, and were prominent in brokering the 2018 peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. We have regular discussions, with both the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, on our shared interests in stability in Ethiopia and ending the conflict in Tigray. Most recently my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa discussed the situation in Ethiopia, including efforts to resolve the border dispute with Sudan, with Emirati counterparts on his visit to the region of 28-29 March. Last month I also spoke with the UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan about stability in the Horn of Africa, an issue we will discuss again in the coming weeks.

Date and time of answer: 26 Apr 2021 at 12:54.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL14675):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current situation in Tigray; and what reports they have received about (1) human rights atrocities, (2) levels of starvation, (3) the number of displaced people and refugees, and (4) fighting, in that region. (HL14675)

Tabled on: 12 April 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:

The humanitarian situation in Tigray is dire, basic services have collapsed and the humanitarian response is hampered by poor security and access. There are credible reports of atrocities committed by all parties to the conflict, including harrowing reports of mass killings and rape. A joint humanitarian and political team from the British Embassy in Addis Ababa visited Tigray on on 4-5 March and 4-7 April. They met with the provisional administration of Tigray, the Mayor of Mekelle, the Interim Head of Administration in Shire and with humanitarian agencies working in the region. They spoke directly to people displaced by violence and heard harrowing accounts of human rights violations. The team also saw UKAid work in action and learned of the challenges across Tigray.

We will hold Prime Minister Abiy to his statement on 23 March that the perpetrators of human rights atrocities should face justice – whoever they are. Further atrocities including sexual and gender-based violence must stop and an independent investigation of those that have occurred must take place. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ planned investigations.

Since the conflict started, the UK has consistently called for an end to fighting, and for all parties to the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians. The conflict in Tigray has had significant consequences and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, over 70,000 moving into Sudan, as well as impacting those that were already in need of humanitarian assistance. Currently 4.5 million are in need of food aid. I made clear the dire humanitarian situation in the UNSC Open Debate on Conflict and Food Security on 11 March. To date the UK has provided £19 million of badly needed support to people in Tigray -to deliver critical food aid, safe drinking water, sanitation and nutritional supplies and medical care. We continue to call for a de-escalation and a long-term political solution. A sustainable political solution is required to resolve the crisis.

Date and time of answer: 26 Apr 2021 at 12:48.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL14679):

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the (1) dispute between the governments of Sudan and Ethiopia over the al-Fashaga territory, and (2) involvement of the government of (a) Eritrea, and (b) Egypt, in that dispute. (HL14679)

Tabled on: 12 April 2021

Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:

We are concerned about the increase of tensions on the Sudanese Ethiopian border in the al-Fashaga territory and have stressed the need for de-escalation on both sides. We are also concerned by the numbers of people displaced and the impact this will have in the region.

We have been in discussions with Eritrea and Sudan regarding their shared border, along with a range of partners who also have shared interests in stability in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa. We are encouraging all parties to de-escalate and engage in a political process. Neither party to the dispute has raised concerns with us about the involvement of third countries.

Date and time of answer: 26 Apr 2021 at 12:48.

24 APRIL 2021

Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)

Addis Abeba — The joint intelligence and security task force comprised of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), the Federal Police Commission, and Information Network Security Agency (INSA) warned that it would no longer tolerate "forces inside and outside the country" who are working to create "national chaos", "public rage" and are "threatening the country's existence."

In a statement the task force released last night, it said that there are "verified" and "ample evidences" that forces inside and outside the country have joined hands to create chaos and distabilize the country while the government is working to solve problems related with identity and boundaries issues "scientifically and impartially."

The task force further said that at a time when the government was determined to hold a free and fair election, and is preparing to conduct the second filling of the GERD, these forces and armed groups were creating chaos in multiple places and said that lives were lost and properties were damaged by the violence in North Showa and Oromo zone, as well as in central Gonder zone of Amhara regional state; the violence in Benishangul Gumuz; Afar and Somali regional states bordering areas as well as the large scale violence in western Oromia regional state.

"In its effort to enforce the rule of law, the government is taking measures against the radical TPLF and OLF/Shene groups as well as other armed groups," the statement said.

In measures being taken in Oromia regional state, "the OLF/Shene armed group" which is sustaining heavy loss, is "moving around various places an inflicting attacks against civilians in order to distract the government's attention. Measures are reinforced to the full extent in order to stop this group completely."

The task force said that the public should understand that these forces both from within and outside the country are "conspiring to dismantle the country" and are working relentlessly by using "social media influencers inside and outside the country" as well as using those "who are hijacked by this evil deed and are embedded inside the government's structure" to kill and displace innocent civilians and are causing "public rage" in order to threaten the "existence of the country and the peace and security of its people."

The task force called on the people of Ethiopia to cooperate with security forces by providing information and assisting it in order to make the "large scale law enforcement efforts" currently underway successful. AS

Read the original article on Addis Standard.

Source=Ethiopia: Joint Security, Intelligence Task Force Warns "Internal and External Forces Working to Bring National Chaos" - allAfrica.com

APRIL 23, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Source: Reuters

U.N. Security Council, for first time, declares concern about Ethiopia’s Tigray

ReutersMichelle Nichols

Ethiopians, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, carry their belongings after crossing the Setit River on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

The U.N. Security Council expressed concern on Thursday about the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, particularly abuse of women and girls, a week after the U.N. aid chief said sexual violence was being used as a weapon of war.

It was the first public statement by the 15-member council, which has been briefed five times privately on the conflict, since fighting between Ethiopia’s federal government troops and Tigray’s former ruling party began in November.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern about allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including reports of sexual violence against women and girls in the Tigray region, and called for investigations to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” it said in the statement, drafted by Ireland and agreed by consensus.

The council was unable to agree language last month with Western countries pitted against Russia and China, whose diplomats questioned whether the body – charged with maintaining international peace and security – should be involved.

U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock last week told the council the humanitarian crisis in Tigray had deteriorated with challenges to aid access, people dying of hunger and many reports of “gang rape, with multiple men assaulting the victim; in some cases, women have been repeatedly raped over a period of days.” He said girls as young as eight had also been targeted.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, then challenged the body’s silence, according to diplomats familiar with her remarks during the closed briefing, asking: “Do African lives not matter as much as those experiencing conflict in other countries?” read more

Ethiopia’s mission to the United Nations in New York said in a statement on Thursday that the “law enforcement operation in Ethiopia is an internal affair regulated by the laws of the country, including human rights laws.”

It said that Ethiopia had committed to investigate and ensure accountability for violations of human rights, including sexual violence, and that Ethiopia was providing humanitarian aid in Tigray.

The conflict has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes in the region of about 5 million. Eritrean troops – accused of massacres and killings in Tigray – have been helping Ethiopian troops.

Lowcock said the world body had not seen any proof that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea have withdrawn, despite demands from U.N. officials and the United States. The Security Council statement made no mention of Eritrean troops.

Eritrea told the Security Council on Friday that it has agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Tigray, acknowledging publicly for the first time its involvement in the conflict.

Source: ABC

UN Security Council: ‘Deep concern’ about Ethiopia’s Tigray

The U.N. Security Council is expressing concern about humanitarian conditions and human rights in Ethiopia’s wartorn Tigray region

23 April 2021, 00:09

2 min read

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council expressed concern Thursday about humanitarian conditions and human rights in Ethiopia‘s Tigray region, marking the council’s first collective comment on the conflict that has raged in the region for six months.

The statement made no mention of Eritrean soldiers in Tigray, though U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock and Amnesty International said last week that the troops remain weeks after Ethiopia said they would leave. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Wednesday that “we haven’t seen any evidence that Eritrean troops are withdrawing from Tigray.”

In November, political tensions between Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed’s government and Tigray leaders exploded into war. Eritrea teamed up with neighboring Ethiopia in the conflict. Thousands of people have been killed.

The United States has alleged ethnic cleansing in the western part of Tigray, a claim that Ethiopian authorities dismiss as unfounded. The term refers to forcing a population from a region through expulsions and other violence, often including killings and rapes.

Ethiopia has said that life in Tigray is returning to normal.

Lowcock, meanwhile, told the council last week that some 4.5 million of Tigray’s 6 million need humanitarian aid and that “there is no doubt that sexual violence is being used in this conflict as a weapon of war.” He cited alarmingly numerous reports of rape and other sexual attacks, mainly by men wearing the uniforms of various forces.

In Thursday’s statement, the council conveyed “deep concern about allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including reports of sexual violence.” It welcomed an agreement by the U.N. and an Ethiopian rights agency to conduct a joint investigation into reported abuses.

The council also acknowledged Ethiopia’s humanitarian efforts but called for a bigger response, unfettered humanitarian access to everyone in need and “a restoration of normalcy.”

APRIL 23, 2021 MARTIN PLAUT ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Source: Economist

Evidence is growing that starvation is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia

Graphic detail

Apr 22nd 2021

PEOPLE FLEEING war are often driven by a fear of bullets and shells. But in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where fighting broke out in November between government forces and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a former ruling party that reverted to being a guerrilla movement, guns are not the only weapons of war. The United Nations has received reports of rape by soldiers. Millions face the threat of starvation, owing in part to the actions of the Ethiopian government’s forces and its allies.

The suffering is widespread. Central and eastern Tigray, as well as parts of the north-west, are facing “crisis”or “emergency” hunger levels, according to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), meaning that households are suffering from acute malnutrition (see map). The next and final phase on the IPC scale is “famine” marked by an extreme lack of food, resulting in starvation or death.

Before the conflict broke out, Tigray was largely free from hunger; now the UN estimates that 4.5m need food aid.

Such food shortages are not simply a case of collateral damage. Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have been looting shops and farms, burning food that they cannot take with them. Water tanks and reservoirs have also been targeted.

In April the World Peace Foundation (WPF), a research organisation based at Tufts University in Massachusetts, published a report alleging systematic “starvation crimes” perpetrated by belligerents. Ethiopia’s government has also been accused of blocking food deliveries to civilians. Between 700,000 and 2.2m people are estimated to be displaced within Tigray, separated from their homes and livelihoods. More than 60,000 have fled into neighbouring Sudan.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the conflict continues to climb. A paper published last month by researchers at Ghent University in Belgium identified 1,942 people killed in the fighting, though the true number may be much higher. Nearly a third of the victims documented by the researchers were killed in point-blank murders or civilian massacres. In most cases, the perpetrators were believed to be Ethiopian or Eritrean soldiers, although in 16% of the deaths identified by the researchers, the killers’ affiliation was unclear. Inadequate health care and food shortages could cause the number of casualties to soar even higher.

The WPF reckons that in central and eastern Tigray alone, between 50 and 100 people are dying every day from causes directly related to hunger. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has promised to investigate allegations of human-rights abuses in Tigray “as soon as possible”. For the families of the many who have already died, that is already too late.

APRIL 23, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

Robert Mardini, director-general of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, said: “I haven’t heard such terrible accounts for more than two decades in the humanitarian sector.” Mardini, among other things, closely followed the civil wars in Syria and Yemen when he headed ICRC’s Near and Middle East division from 2012 to 2018. “Many of my humanitarian colleagues are testifying the same,” he said.

Source: AFP

Posted By: Anya Ayenion: April 22, 2021In:

Red Cross condemns ‘horrific’ sexual violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray

The Red Cross voiced alarm Thursday over “horrific” accounts of sexual violence in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region, amid fears that rape was being used as a weapon of war.

Robert Mardini, director-general of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, said the organisation’s staff in hospitals and clinics in the region were hearing first-hand of extreme sexual violence.

“Those reports are extremely horrific, very shocking,” he told AFP in an interview, adding that this was a “matter of grave concern”.

“I haven’t heard such terrible accounts for more than two decades in the humanitarian sector,” said Mardini, who among other things closely followed the civil wars in Syria and Yemen when he headed ICRC’s Near and Middle East division from 2012 to 2018.

“Many of my humanitarian colleagues are testifying the same,” he said.

“This is a top priority for us – to prevent this from happening again and, of course, to do everything we can to support the victims and help them overcome these extremely devastating experiences.”

Five months into the Tigray war, stories of rape have become common, with doctors and nurses in Ethiopia’s northernmost region speaking of treating numerous women after gang rapes by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers.

The United Nations’ humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock warned earlier this month that sexual violence was being used in the Tigray conflict as “a weapon of war, as a means to humiliate, terrorise and traumatise an entire population today and into the next generation”.

– Over one million displaced –

Mardini said he did not want to speculate on whether rape was systematically being used as a weapon of war, saying the ICRC was simply “trying to gather the scope and the magnitude of this problem”.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to disarm and detain leaders of the region’s once-dominant political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

For months, the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments denied Eritrean troops were also involved, contradicting testimony from residents, rights groups, aid workers, diplomats and even some Ethiopian civilian and military officials.

Abiy finally acknowledged the Eritreans’ presence in March, while Eritrea did so earlier this month, pledging to pull out its forces amid mounting international pressure.

However, so far there is little sign of that happening.

The international community is meanwhile pressing for Ethiopia to allow greater access for aid agencies to Tigray as the humanitarian situation has deteriorated.

“Displacement is still happening,” Mardini said, pointing out that “more than a million people were displaced over the five past months”.

He also voiced concern at the large-scale destruction in the region, pointing to “a lot of attacks against civilians, properties but also individuals, which of course is a matter of great concern”.

ICRC has been working alongside the Ethiopian Red Cross Society to deliver aid to those affected by the Tigray conflict.

The organisation is also working to help track down the numerous people who have gone missing, and to reunite separated families.

“We don’t have reliable figures and statistics, but the humanitarian concerns are unfortunately on the rise, and it is a very worrying situation,” Mardini said.

In writing about Eritrea – indeed, in writing about the Horn of Africa as a whole – every author and journalist has to be on their guard against the disinformation spread by the Eritrean regime.

This systematic propaganda system is known by the term that was coined during Eritrea’s thirty year fight for independence (1961 – 1991). This is “Zero Three.”

When Isaias wanted to remove his enemies inside the Eritrean liberation movement he sometimes had them executed.

It would then be suggested that they had “committed suicide.”

One of EPLF’s liquidation tactics was “suicide,” which were never announced officially—but passed through “Bado Seleste” (Zero Three), the radio frequency for the party’s rumour mill.

As the BBC’s correspondent in Asmara, Alex Last wrote during the tragic border war with Ethiopia in 2000, Zero Three was spreading misinformation in an attempt to bolster Eritrean morale as its troops were in full retreat.

The news of the fall of Barentu has had a devastating effect on the mood in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

It was announced on Eritrean TV late on Wednesday evening,

“I don’t think anyone slept last night” said one Eritrean businesswoman. The city remains calm, but people are very depressed.

For many Eritreans, the news had came as a shock. The local rumour mill, known as “Bado Seleste” meaning “03” – a reference to the unofficial news during the war of liberation – had been full of stories of counter-attacks and the recapture of villages right up until Wednesday night.

As with most countries which are facing an overwhelming invader, the rumours tend to be what people want to hear, not necessarily the truth.

When President Isaias faced real dissent after his disastrous handling of the border war and was challenged by some of his closest allies – the ‘G15’ – he reacted by locking them up.

The president also closed all independent media and arrested journalists.

Ever since there has been no free media inside Eritrea – none whatsoever.

Propaganda across the world

The Eritrean diaspora is under constant surveillance by the regime.

Sometimes this is done through the structures of the only legal party – the PFDJ.

Sometimes it is done through the Eritrean embassy.

Sometimes it is done by thugs who use brute force.

Every Eritrean living abroad knows that he or she are being monitored from Asmara. It hampers their lives, limits their ability to use democratic structures to resist the regime.

This article highlights some of these measures.

Dissent is managed partly by force, and partly by a rumour mill, known as Bado Seleste — Zero Three — a reference to a wartime propaganda service. The government has let it be known that there is an informant in every house, and that every phone is tapped.

Zero Three extends into the diaspora. Refugees refuse to speak on the record or be photographed for fear of reprisals against them or their families. Those that do put their heads above the parapet are targeted. Activists in London report being followed, having their tyres slashed and receiving late night phone calls.

Every independent journalist needs to be aware of this network of misinformation and repression.

It needs to be constantly guarded against, while ignoring the social media attacks by these state agents, and establishing reliable sources of information.

APRIL 16, 2021 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS, TIGRAY

United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
For Immediate Release

April 15, 2021

Statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on the Situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Today the United States raised again in the Security Council its grave concern regarding the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and credible reports that Eritrean forces are re-uniforming as Ethiopian military in order to remain in Tigray indefinitely. The Eritrean government must withdraw its forces from Ethiopia immediately.

We are horrified by the reports of rape and other unspeakably cruel sexual violence that continue to surface. The degradation and trauma associated with these attacks will have long-term effects on the affected communities. We condemn all sexual violence and demand perpetrators be brought to justice.

We acknowledge Prime Minister Abiy’s commitment to hold accountable all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, and atrocities. The Eritrean government must make a similar commitment. We welcome the joint investigation by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in Tigray and urge them to complete this investigation as thoroughly and swiftly as possible.

An estimated 5.2 million people in Tigray are food insecure and require assistance and are at risk of famine. There remain challenges accessing populations in need, and some of these restrictions have been imposed by Eritrean forces. We continue to call for unhindered humanitarian access in Tigray. The United States has committed an additional $152 million to help address humanitarian needs in Tigray. We call on other international donors to increase assistance to meet the growing needs.

We call again for an end to hostilities and for the Ethiopian government to deliver upon a political settlement of the crisis; permit unhindered humanitarian access; allow for independent, international investigations into human rights abuses and violations; protect civilians; enact the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara regional forces from Tigray; and hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable.

This crisis demands our attention and our action. It’s time for the Security Council to speak with one voice.

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