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Two international aid groups said Tuesday that the Ethiopian government had suspended part or all of their operations.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
[Ethiopian Herald] The call five United States Senators made to the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman for the postponement of Ethiopia's forthcoming General Elections displayed a 'shallow understanding and ignorance' about the conflict in Ethiopia, a renowned political analyst said.
Main opposition parties in the Oromia region – Abiy’s home region – have kicked against the HoF decision calling it a unilateral and illegal extension of the term of government.
“A political consensus whereby the views of the opposition political parties were taken into consideration and a climate of trust and fruitful collaboration was promoted would have been more likely to create an environment where the promised peaceful and comprehensive democratic transformation of Ethiopia would have been possible,” their statement read in part.
He has serially insisted that he did not fear elections and was ready to hand over power if he loses
\tThe Council of Constitutional Inquiry held public hearings last month on possible next steps, though critics said these were insufficiently inclusive of opposition voices.
Dawud Ibsa, chairman of the opposition Oromo Liberation Front, told AFP Wednesday that the House of Federation vote “does not have any constitutional basis”.
If major opposition parties reject the recommendations from the Council of Constitutional Inquiry, “protests or election boycotts could become a reality, reducing the chances of successful competitive polls in 2021,” said William Davison of the International Crisis Group (ICG), a conflict-prevention organisation.
By STEVE PEOPLES and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden quietly pushed forward with the business of preparing to become America's next commander in chief on Wednesday, ignoring President Donald Trump's unprecedented push to block his Democratic rival's transition. Biden stepped away from his closed-door planning only to honor the nation's fallen soldiers for a Veterans Day tribute at the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia. The president-elect, whose late son, Beau, served in the Delaware Army National Guard, made no public remarks at the small ceremony. Biden continues to shrug off Trump's refusal to accept the […]
The post Biden pushes forward on transition despite Trump's blocking appeared first on Black News Channel.
The Ethiopian government says operations by its defence forces are underway in Tigray its northern region
The move comes after the government of prime minister Abiy Ahmed declared an “unexpected war” on it’s northern state, threatening the stability of one of the world’s most strategic regions, the Horn of Africa.
Birhanu Jula Gelalcha, Deputy Chief of the Ethiopian Army described the war a shameful one. \"O ur country has entered into a war that it did not want. This war is a shameful war. It does not have a point. The people of Tigray and its youth and its security forces should not die for this pointless war. Ethiopia is their country.\" the army chief explained.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are accused of an unprovoked attack on the Ethiopian army’s northern command, and of trying to loot its weapons.
Tensions between the government and TPLF, which used to be part of the governing coalition before falling out with Mr Abiy, have escalated in recent months.
The TPLF has accused Abiy’s administration of trying to destroy Tigray’s right to self-determination and conspiring with Ethiopia’s northern neighbour Eritrea to stage a military attack.
(Tigrinya) Debretsion Gebremichael, President of the Tigray Regional State. berated the government's move.
\"In the regions around Tigray there is a massing of military forces. Consequently I have announced at a news conference to say that they are surrounding us with their forces. I stated that they have decided to go to war and we should all prepare to foil it. This is our proclamation, so let it be clear\". Gebremicheal said.
He stressed there was no reason for this because the people of Tigray held an election. \"There was nothing new that happened. This is the action of a self-loving government that is trying to resolve, albeit though not possible, political differences through force, weapons, and war. That is why they have declared war on the people of Tigray.\"
On Tuesday, the federal parliament proposed that the TPLF be designated as a \"terrorist organisation.\"
An apparent hit-and-run killed a pedestrian at about 10 p.m. Friday on Brookman Road, St. Thomas, according to the V.I. Police Department. The victim was identified by next of kin as 37-year-old Royson JnoBaptiste.
[DW] Hundreds have died in the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region and thousands more have fled. As the TPLF and Ahmed trade jabs, thousands of refugees are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Sudanese camps.
The Ethiopian government said on Monday it had not asked any country to mediate in a conflict in its northern region as the federal air force bombed the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, according to diplomatic and military sources.
Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni had tweeted a call for the conflict to stop. Mr Museveni's tweet would later be deleted.
Kenya and Djibouti urged a peaceful resolution and the opening of humanitarian corridors while former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo went to Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Tuesday that the ongoing military operation in the breakaway region of Tigray (North) will enter its \"final\" phase in the \"coming days\".
On November 4, Abiy sent the federal army to attack the northern region after months of tensions with the regional authorities of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
The fighting has left several hundred people dead, according to Addis Ababa, and has forced more than 25,000 people to flee to neighboring Sudan.
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Tracing their family members is complicated by camp relocations and lack of access to conflict-hit Tigray region, aid workers say
July 10: Hachalu’s ‘murders’ arrested
The Ethiopian government says it has identified three people believed to have been behind the killing of Hachalu Hundessa. According to the federal attorney general, Adanech Abeibe, the suspects have confessed to their crimes.
Two of the suspects are in custody whiles one is on the run. Tilahun Yami is identified at the gunman while Abdi Alemayehou is accused of being an accomplice. The suspects held three meetings with a their ‘instructors’ as they planned the murder, the attorney general added.
Authorities say that they were given instructions to undertake the killing by a group called Shane, which broke away from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). OLF is a former rebel group currently registered as a political party. It is one of the main opposition parties in the Oromia region.
The region was the epicenter of protests that killed over 230 people demanding justice for the famed musician who was shot dead in Addis Ababa. The government cut internet as protests began to spread last week.
The capital Addis Ababa also recorded significant violence. Calm has been restored by the government has kept an internet outage in place since July 30. Over 3,500 people were also arrested for their roles in instigating violence.
TPLF tells Ethiopia PM to face challenges, stop scapegoating
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July 2: Hachalu buried in Ambo, blast rocks Addis
The funeral of Oromo protest singer Hachalu Hundessa has been held in his hometown of Ambo in the Oromia regional state, the BBC reports.
The event was under heavy security as a sparse crowd joined the final rites for the artist whose killing earlier this week sparked spontaneous protests in parts of the country leading to at least 80 other deaths.
Pictures on national television show the funeral procession at a stadium in the singer’s hometown of Ambo, about 100km (62miles) west of the capital, Addis Ababa.
Photos courtesy: BBC Africa LIVE page
Meanwhile there are reports of a deadly blast in the capital Addis Ababa with most people on Twitter citing local police. It will be the fourth blast in the last few days. Police confirmed three blasts during protests against Hachalu’s murder on Tuesday.
“Reports coming in of blast in Ethiopian capital Addis. Possibly hand grenade. Scores killed,” Rashid Abdi, a researcher and analyst of the Horn of Africa tweeted.
A Reuters report also said police fired in the air to prevent mourners entering the Ambo stadium for the funeral. Members of the military, federal police and regional police were out in force, and two residents said police were firing in the air to deter mourners.
A live broadcast showed sparse numbers of people seated inside. One resident said large crowds had been turned away by police.
The slain singer’s wife, Santu Demi
[The Conversation Africa] At the launch of bitcoin in 2009 the size of the potential of the underlying technology, the blockchain, was not fully appreciated.
[Ethiopian Herald] Part One
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is from Tigray, said many people were dying of hunger and that rape was spreading too.
[Nation] Kenya and peers at the UN Security Council have endorsed an African Union commission of inquiry into atrocities in Tigray even as the Ethiopian government began to count the cost of the war it began in November.
