News: #US calls on #Eritrea, #Ethiopia to halt #Tigray “joint military offensive”; #UN humanitarian chief confirms shelling in Shire injures two aid workers

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the latest concern of the U.S. government “over reports of increasing violence, loss of life, indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and destruction in the conflict in northern Ethiopia, particularly around Shire in the Tigray region.” The U.S. also called on “the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Eritrean Defense Forces to immediately halt their joint military offensive and for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from northern Ethiopia.”

Blinken also called on “the Tigrayan Defense Forces to cease provocative actions.”

The statement came shortly after Martin Griffiths, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, confirmed that “two frontline staff were injured in shelling today” in Shire. He described the situation as “increasingly tense.”

https://addisstandard.com/news-us-calls-on-eritrea-ethiopia-to-halt-tigray-joint-military-offensive-un-humanitarian-chief-confirms-shelling-in-shire-injures-two-aid-workers/

#Ethiopia: Two civil servants, a teacher accused of financially supporting #OLA, #TPLF appear before court in #Sidama region

By Mhret G/Kristos

Addis Ababa: Two civil servants and a teacher have been brought to a court in Sidama regional state for the second time on 12 October after being accused of financially supporting the armed group Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), commonly referred to as “OLF/Shene”, and the TPLF.

Both the OLA and the TPLF have been labelled as terrorist organizations by the parliament of Ethiopia.

The suspects, Kanbata Kiwi, an employee of Science and Technology Agency of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) region, Tesfatsion Legesse, an employee of Construction and Design Supervision Authority of the SNNP, and Mitiku Belayneh, a principal at Tabor Mekaneyesus school, were first brought to the court of law on 30 September, according to a family member and an informant who asked to remain anonymous for fear reprisal.

Police said it suspected the individuals of financially supporting the OLA and the TPLF, a party ruling the Tigray Regional state. https://addisstandard.com/news-two-civil-servants-a-teacher-accused-of-financially-supporting-ola-tplf-appear-before-court-in-sidama-region/

#Ethiopia: #AlmazAyana runs fastest ever women's marathon debut with 2:17:20 in #Amsterdam

Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana ran 2:17:20 to achieve the fastest ever women's marathon debut and win a high-quality clash at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (16).

Setting a Dutch all-comers’ record, Almaz won the head-to-head against her fellow global track gold medalist and compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, who was also making her marathon debut, while Tsegaye Getachew made it an Ethiopian double, winning the men’s race in a PB of 2:04:49.

The women’s race in Amsterdam featured a trio of notable debutants and despite going up against some more experienced opponents when it comes to marathon running, the spotlight was on Ayana, Dibaba and their compatriot Tsehay Gemechu.

https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/news/amsterdam-marathon-2022-ayana-getachew

Business: #Akobo Minerals kicks off #Ethiopia mine development

Akobo Minerals, the Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and boutique mining company, today announced that its mining contractor, IW Mining Pty (Ltd), has arrived at site.

The Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and boutique mining company is currently engaged in ongoing exploration and boutique development in the #Gambella region and #Dima Woreda, in #southwest Ethiopia.

https://addisstandard.com/business-akobo-minerals-kicks-off-ethiopia-mine-development/

#NewsAnalysis: As fears grow for civilians in #Shire, #AU, #Tigray region echo need for immediate, unconditional ceasefire; Federal gov. to continue “defensive measures”

**The federal government says it will continue to take defensive measures against what it said was “repeated attack of the #TPLF and its active collusion with hostile foreign powers”

Among growing global concerns and condemnations over recent intensified attacks on civilians by the joint Ethiopian and Eritrean military offensives in and around Shire, a city in northwest Tigray regional state, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for “an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and resumption of humanitarian services” in the Tigray Region.

The Chairperson' statement also signaled that talks will be “convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, and supported by the international community,” but he did not give a specific time frame or mention the stakeholders among the international community.

https://addisstandard.com/news-analysis-as-fears-grow-for-civilians-in-shire-au-tigray-region-echo-need-for-immediate-unconditional-ceasefire-gov-to-continue-defensive-measures/

Opinion: War is not #African! – A shift from colonial development aid approach to global a solidarity

By Siyane Aniley

Solidarity has become a global buzzword in the development sector and even more in the recent context of global pandemic. However, Solidarity is not a new way of doing things in Africa.

In Africa, we have a philosophy called Ubuntu; meaning, ‘I am, Because We are’.

https://addisstandard.com/opinion-war-is-not-african-a-shift-from-colonial-development-aid-approach-to-global-a-solidarity/

#Kenya-#Ethiopia power buy deal to vary after five years

Kenya will buy power from Ethiopia at 6.5 US cents per kilowatt for the next five years before it can be allowed to renegotiate.

Ethiopian Electric Power (ECC) has revealed a clause in the power purchase agreement that says Kenya Power can only seek a review of the tariff after that period.

Kenya signed a 25-year deal with the Horn of Africa’s nation to start importing electricity from next month in a bid to edge out the expensive power from the national grid and ensure buffers to meet peak demand.

The clause allowing tariff renegotiation is a key plank for the State-owned utility to get cheap energy that will then be passed on to consumers in the form of lower bills.

https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/kenya-ethiopia-power-buy-deal-to-vary-after-five-years-3987396

#Ethiopia: "Today at 11:50 a.m. EST Antonio Guterres will address the media at the Security Council stakeout on the situation in Ethiopia. This will be followed by our regular noon briefing."

Source: #UN Spokesperson

For live feed: https://media.un.org/en/webtv/

#Ethiopia: Key points raised by #UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in his address to the media at the Security Council stakeout:
*The situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control.
*Violence and destruction have reached alarming level.
*The Social fabric is being ripped apart.
* Hostilities in the #Tigray region must end now, including the immediate withdrawal and disengagement of Eritrean armed forces from Ethiopia.
*There is no Military solution
* Civilians paying horrific prices
*Indiscriminate attacks including in residential areas are killing more innocent people everyday, damaging critical infrastructure
* Disturbing accounts of sexual violence & other forms of brutality against women, children & women
* The level of needs is staggering
* Even before the resumption of hostilities, 13 million people required humanitarian aid in #Amhara, #Afar, and Tigray
* The is UN is ready to support the #AU to end this nightmare.
* The international community must rally together now for peace

Ethiopian soldiers take strategic city in Tigray amid civilian exodus

Thousands of terrified inhabitants fearing a repeat of previous atrocities — including gang rapes and mass killings — began streaming out of the opposition-held city of Shire over the weekend, said an aid worker who was among a group of people evacuated from the city.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/17/ethiopia-tigray-eritrea-war-shire/

Business: #Maersk launches new multi-purpose centre in #Ethiopia
porttechnology.org/news/maersk-la… “The new consolidation centre in #Modjo Dry Port saves our customers time and cost through consolidation, synergies and providing a single point of contact with greater visibility."

#Ethiopia: #UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warns of devastating impact of continued hostilities on civilians


“Since 31 August we have received numerous reports of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian objects due to airstrikes and artillery strikes in Tigray – disruptions to communication make it particularly difficult to verify reports, but it is clear that the toll on civilians is utterly staggering,” Türk said.

https://shar.es/af66PD

ዜና: ከኦሮሚያ ክልል የተፈናቀሉ በርካታ ሰላማዊ ሰዎች ወደ አማራ ክልል እየገቡ ነው፣ ተ.መ.ድ

በኦሮሚያ ክልል በተለይም በወለጋ ዞኖች እየተካሄደ ባሉ ግጭቶች የተነሳ በርካታ በአካባቢው ይኖሩ የነበሩ ሰላማዊ ሰዎች ወደ አማራ ክልል መፈናቀል መቀጠላቸውን በኢትዮጵያ የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት የሰብአዊ እርዳታ ማስተባበሪያ ቢሮ ዲስ በለቀቀው ዘገባ ተናግሯል። ይሁንና ሪፖርቱ ምን ያህል ሰላማዊ ዜጎች ተፈናቅለው ወደ አማራ ክልል እንደደረሱ አልገለጸም።

በዚህም መሠረት በርካታ የተፈናቀሉ ሰላማዊ ሰዎች ወደ ጎጃም፣ ሰሜን ሸዋ፣ ደቡብ ወሎ፣ ዋግ ኽምራ ዞኖች እንዲሁም ወደ ባህር ዳርና ደብረ ብርሃን ከተሞች መጉረፋቸውን የዞኑ ባለስልጣናት እና ግብረሰናይ አጋሮች አረጋግጠዋል ሲል ቢሮው በትናንትናው እለት ባወጣው አጭር ዘገባ ገልጿል።

https://amharic.addisstandard.com/%e1%8b%9c%e1%8a%93-%e1%8a%a8%e1%8a%a6%e1%88%ae%e1%88%9a%e1%8b%ab-%e1%8a%ad%e1%88%8d%e1%88%8d-%e1%8b%a8%e1%89%b0%e1%8d%88%e1%8a%93%e1%89%80%e1%88%89-%e1%89%a0%e1%88%ad%e1%8a%ab%e1%89%b3-%e1%88%b0/

#Ethiopia: Government security forces kill member of Karrayyu Gadaa leaders, abduct five others in East Shewa Zone of #Oromia regional state

By Getahun Legesse

Government security forces have killed Boru Roba, a respected member of the #KarrayyuGadaa leaders, and abducted his brother and sister along with two other individuals in #Fentalle, East Shewa Zone of Oromia regional state. According to multiple sources in the area who spoke to #AddisStandard, the killing and abductions took place on Saturday, 15 October.

Security forces composed of the national defense forces, Oromia special force, and the militia are operating in villages including Gidara, Tututi and Toro Bedeno in Fentalle district.

https://addisstandard.com/news-government-security-forces-kill-member-of-karrayyu-gadaa-leaders-abduct-five-others-in-east-shewa-zone-of-oromia/

Civilians in #Ethiopia’s #Tigray Region at Heightened Risk: #HRW

"For several weeks, towns in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have endured regular bombardments from an escalating joint offensive by Ethiopia and Eritrea forces against Tigrayan forces. Yesterday, the government forces captured Shire, a major town in Tigray. Attacks around the town – already host to thousands of Tigrayans forcibly displaced from Western Tigray in an earlier ethnic cleansing campaign – led to further flight as fearful residents evacuated the town in droves."

Full report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/18/civilians-ethiopias-tigray-region-heightened-risk

#Unprecedented drought brings threat of starvation to millions in #Ethiopia, #Kenya, and #Somalia

"Rainfall deficits during the recent March-April-May 2022 rainy season have been the most severe in at least the last 70 years in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The ongoing, four-season drought has also been the most extensive and persistent event since 1981. Further concerns are raised by elevated risks of a fifth below-average rainy season in October-November-December."

https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news/unprecedented-drought-brings-threat-starvation-millions-ethiopia-kenya-and-somalia-2022-06-09_en

News: Prosecutor charges three law enforcement officers, accomplices accused of rape, grave corruption and abuse of power

The Prosecutor filed charges against three police officers and their accomplices, including the head of criminal investigation department at the Airport Police Station, who are accused of abusing their authority and committing grave crimes of corruption and rape against a woman victims, the Ministry of Justice said.

Extraordinary accusations by prospector on crimes of rape, grave corruption, & detention in illegal places of a woman victim.

https://addisstandard.com/news-prosecutor-charges-three-law-enforcement-officers-accomplices-accused-of-rape-grave-corruption-and-abuse-of-power/

News: Benishangul Gumuz regional govt, rebel group sign peace agreement

The #BenishangulGumuz regional government communication bureau said the regional government and and the #Gumuz People’s Democratic Movement (#GPDM), a rebel group militarily active in the region, signed a peace agreement today to resolve their differences “through dialogue.”

In May last year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Benishangul Gumuz regional state government and an unnamed “armed group”, which would see members of the later take up leadership positions in the region.

https://addisstandard.com/news-benishangul-gumuz-regional-govt-rebel-group-sign-peace-agreement/

#NewsAlert: Postponed #AU peace talk to take place on 24 Oct. in #SouthAfrica: #Ethiopia

Ambassador Redwan Hussien, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said that the African Union Commission “has informed us that the Peace talks is set for 24 Oct, 2022 to be held in South Africa.”

This is the second attempt by the continental organization to organize peace talks in South Africa in as many weeks. In a letter dated 01 October and sent to Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), President of Tigray regional State, inviting him to “peace talks” scheduled to take place in South Africa from 08 October 2022, erroneously mentioned as Sunday. Both the federal government and Tigray regional state said they accepted the invitation. https://addisstandard.com/newsalert-postponed-au-peace-talk-to-take-place-on-24-oct-in-south-africa-ethiopia/