Horn of Africa

Image: Nest box for Columba guinea (considered a symbol of peace) in the wall of a homestead in Zerfenti, a village in Tigray where hundreds were killed by Derg bombings. CC BY-SA 4.0

Uncertainty Stalks Ethiopia, the Tigray Region and the Horn of Africa

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – A video has emerged of the head of the Ethiopian Northern Command, General Belay, saying that the Eritrean Soldiers in Tigray had not been invited and were undesirable. It is the latest statement by an Ethiopian Federal official which confirms the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray.

General Belay is blaming the TPLF for starting the conflict and stopping the ENDF from guarding the border against Eritrean intrusion. Eritrea has provided major support to ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) during the invasion of Tigray. This has been confirmed by the Ethiopian government as well.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 07 January 2021

Photo credit: Tens of thousands of refugees have crossed the border from Ethiopia to Sudan, fleeing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. © WFP/Leni Kinzli

UN Concerned Over the Situation of Refugees from Tigray

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The US Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin is due to visit Khartoum on January 6. The aim of the visit is to review the economic situation, as well as the US assistance to Sudan. Mnuchin will also visit other countries in the region such as Egypt, Qatar and Israel.

The UN estimates that more than 322,000 people are Internally Displaced (IDP). The provisional Tigrayan government reported yesterday that it believed there were 2.2 million IDPs.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 05 January 2021

Food Insecurity and Drought Threaten Ethiopia as Armed Forces Withdraw from Rural Areas in Tigray

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Clashes between Ethiopia and Sudan ended, after the Ethiopian army withdrew last week away from the border. Several sources say that the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) are retreating from rural areas in Tigray towards the capital Mekelle. This corroborates other sources.

Fighting continues to take place around Mekelle. Shelling has been observed near Hagere Selam, 50 kilometers from the regional capital. Civilians are afraid of ENDF soldiers as they are said to take revenge on civilians after losing a battle.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 04 January 2021

Photo: Chinese UNAMID peacekeepers (file photo) Credit: UNAMID/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Unease as UN Peace Mission in Sudan Ends and Ethiopian Soldiers Return Home

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The TPLF is keeping control of mountainous areas in Tigray. As many analysts predicted when Mekelle was taken, the ENDF has had difficulties driving the TPLF out of well entrenched mountain positions.

The ENDF has launched an offensive towards Samre, East of Mekelle.

Meanwhile, cruelties against civilians are reported. These include forcing relatives to commit incest on women and girls under the threat of arbitrary execution.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 03 January 2021

Things Getting Complicated for Ethiopia

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Multiple sources state that Eritrean soldiers are blocked in attempts to leave Tigray. Heavy fighting between Ethiopia National Defence Forces (ENDF) and Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) is taking place near the major roads out to Eritrea. This has stopped the Eritrean transfer of looted goods out of the region.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 02 January 2021

Photo: Millions of children in Ethiopia's Tigray out of reach. Credit: Anadolu Agency.

An Overview of the Situation in Tigray as 2021 Begins

By EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than two million children in Tigray do not have access to food, water and safety and may have been displaced. While there is a severe humanitarian situation regarding 100.000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray; full humanitarian access has not been given.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 01 January 2021

Photo: The Tigray region faces some of the toughest development challenges in Ethiopia. (file photo). Credit: UNICEF/Zerihun Sewunet

UN Supplies Food for 25,000 Refugees in Tigray Region

Compiled by Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – For the first time since mid-October, some 25,000 Eritrean refugees, sheltering in two camps in the unsettled Tigray region of Ethiopia, have received desperately needed food aid, reports UN News.

"Families, women, men, children — even new-borns — have been cut off from supplies and essential services for many weeks, so this distribution was urgently needed," said Ann Encontre, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representative in Ethiopia.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 31 December 2020

EEPA Report on the Horn of Africa Situation December 31

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The Belgium-based Europe External Programme with Africa has put together the latest report on the Horn of Africa situation. EEPA is a Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection and resilience in the Horn of Africa. It has published extensively on issues related to movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route.