Month: February 2021

(Source: AA.com, by Servet Günerigök, Washington, 28 Februray 2021 Top diplomat says those responsible for violence must be held accountable The US said Saturday it is gravely concerned about reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, calling for Eritrean and Amhara forces there to withdraw. “We strongly condemn the killings, forced […]

(Source: Bloomberg News, Samuel Gebre, 28 Februry 2021) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an end to fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia and an international investigation of reported atrocities there. In a statement Saturday, Blinken appealed for a cessation of hostilities between Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and […]

(Source: AP, By ANDREW MELDRUM, JOHANNESBURG, 28 February 2021) –   The U.S. is “gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation” in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the toughest statement yet from the U.S. on Ethiopia’s ongoing conflict. Accounts of atrocities by Ethiopian forces against residents of […]

(Source: Tghat, 27 February 2021) – “Related to civilian damage, maximum caution was taken. In just 3 weeks of fighting, in any district, in Humera, Adi Goshu, … Aksum, …, Edaga Hamus, …. The defence forces never killed a single civilian in a single town. No soldier from any country could display better competence.” Those were the words of […]

(Source: Tghat, 27 February 2021) – Engineer Alula Habteab, Head of the Bureau of Construction, Road and Tarsport in the Abiy-Ahmed-installed puppet interim administration of Tigray said, in a press briefing, that Ethiopian Defence Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces and Amhara Forces have completely destroyed Tigray’s 30-year development work. Alula Habteab said that although it is […]

(Source: US Department of State) PRESS STATEMENT ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE FEBRUARY 27, 2021 The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and […]

(Source: Addis Standard Addis Ababa) –  In his first official statement since becoming the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken said “the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray” are essential first steps to end “reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.” They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations […]

(Source: VOA News, By Salem Solomon, Gebre Gebremedhin, 27 February 27, 2021 02:20 AM) –  Guesh Liasanewerk’s family had just gathered to celebrate the birth of his sister’s child born four days earlier. Sitting in their home in a rural area outside of the historic Ethiopian city of Axum, they were interrupted by Eritrean soldiers storming […]

(Source: BBC News) Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray killed hundreds of people in Aksum mainly over two days in November, witnesses say. The mass killings on 28 and 29 November may amount to a crime against humanity, Amnesty International says in a report. An eyewitness told the BBC how bodies remained […]

(Source: Sky News, by John Sparks, 27 February 2021) –  Axum is a historical city – an ancient site of pilgrimage in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. But a vicious conflict arrived in this community on the morning of 28 November, and it was signalled by the crack of gunfire from the surrounding hills. These […]

(Source: New York Times) – A confidential U.S. government report found that people in Tigray are being driven from their homes in a war begun by Ethiopia, an American ally — posing President Biden’s first major test in Africa. By Declan Walsh  Feb. 26, 2021, 6:47 p.m. ET NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopian officials and allied […]

(Source: Tghat) –  To begin with, for those who have died as a result of war- heaven, for those who grieve- condolence, for those harmed- may God send His Mercy, as for the rest of our people we wish peace, health and justice. The founding ambition of the Inter-religious Council of Tigray is to work […]

(Source: AFP and Yahoo,  By Robbie Corey-Boulet, February 26, 2021, 10:17 AM) –  Interim head of Tigray administration, Mulu Nega, asked if Eritrean troops needed to go told AFP: “Of course, it’s very clear.” For nearly two decades, the hilltop museum flanked by weeping willow trees showcased the military might of the Tigray region’s ruling party, […]

(Source: Channel 4 News)  The massacre in Axum showing bodies been collected from the street, interview with Amnesty report author and eyewitness testimony. It wasn’t so long ago that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia was receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for ending a conflict with Eritrea. Today Amnesty International released a report accusing both the […]

(Source: Refugees International, By Sarah Miller, David Del Conte, and Hardin Lang, 25 February 2021) – Introduction With the situation in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region at a dangerous turning point, the international community has yet to take decisive action. Diplomatic, humanitarian, and human rights groups have increasingly spoken out, urging the Ethiopian government to allow […]

(Source: UK Parliament House of Commons Library, 25 February 2021) – The UK Government is calling for unfettered humanitarian access and an end to the violence in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. This Commons Library paper sets out the situation in Tigray and how the conflict developed. Months of tension between the new government of Abiy […]

(Source: Mail Online, 25 February 2021) – Troops from a “neighbouring country” destroyed factories and universities during the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray state, an official with the region’s interim administration told state media Thursday in an apparent reference to Eritrea. Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when Prime Minister […]

(Source: UN Human Rights, Rapporteur Mr Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker) – 46rd Session of the Human Rights Council Update on Eritrea 24 February 2021 Esteemed Chair, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my honour to present my first oral update to the Council since taking up the role of Special Rapporteur last November 2020. In my update […]

A call for national protest the ongoing war on Tigray starting from 2/25/2021 to 2/28/2021, in three different locations in Washington, DC. The Protest is being held to urge the United States and international community to act now to pressure the Ethiopian government to open unimpeded humanitarian corridors, restore communications, power, banking, healthcare, and other […]

(Source: Tghat, 24 February 2021) –   Note: This is a translation of a recent account of events in Sheraro and environs, written in Tigrinya by an eyewitness who chose to remain unnamed. Translation was done by Tigisti (a PhD student in computer science). Beginning 4 November 2020, there were intense fights in the environs […]

(Source: Tghat, 24 February 2021) – Note: this is a translation of an account of Dutch aid workers that has been published at Trouw, a Dutch daily newspaper. The aid workers were recently in Tigray and tell what they saw. It is still somewhat safe in the capital Mekele, says Hielke Zantema of the Dutch […]