At a hearing conducted today, judges at the Southern Command First Instance Military Court have sentenced former members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (E.N.D.F) with prison terms.

The sentences handed down today range from eight years to 18 years in prison, state media EBC reported. The judges passed a guilty verdict on the defendants during a hearing conducted on August 25.

https://addisstandard.com/news-southern-command-military-court-sentences-army-members-accused-of-direct-links-with-t-p-l-f-from-eight-to-eighteen-years-in-prison/

The U.N. Security Council will convene today in person for an open briefing and closed consultations on the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia under the “Peace and Security in Africa” agenda item.

On April 22, following a meeting held on April 14 at a closed door meeting at the request of the US under Any other Business (AOB), members of the SC reached at a consensus and issued a statement calling for “a scaled up humanitarian response and unfettered humanitarian access to all people in need, including in the context of the food security situation” in Tigray regional state.

https://addisstandard.com/news-u-n-s-c-convenes-today-for-open-briefing-closed-consultations-on-tigray/

“The main perpetrators of the attack were members of Shane who opened fire on both Oromos and Amharas. There are also armed Amhara militias. The conflict has now stopped.”
https://addisstandard.com/news-analysis-conflicting-narratives-as-violence-hits-east-wollega-again-claiming-hundreds-of-civilian-lives/

The main goal of the program is to reduce the number of dependent foreigners (escorts) in Saudi Arabia and open the space for more employment of young Saudis who were complaining about unemployment. It was registered that the number pf foreign residents increased from 12.2 million (37% of the entire population in 2016) to 12.6 million (38% of the entire population in June 2021). This can be credited to illegal migration mainly from the Horn of Africa countries with the majority of illegal immigrants originating from Ethiopia.
https://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-ethiopians-in-saudi-arabia-complain-of-mistreatment-in-detention-centers-arbitrary-arrests-mofa-says-efforts-ongoing-to-ensure-safety-of-residents-return-of-detainees/?fbclid=IwAR0YoMGd3SbA5azO6BV5GFnO7VgeJE4ArGs-MoQDvTYVlQAkuIBh-ysMJvc

We stand in solidarity with all Ethiopian intellectuals in-country who want to speak out against the war but feel unable to do so due to fear of retaliation.

https://addisstandard.com/letter-an-open-call-by-african-intellectuals-for-urgent-action-on-ethiopia/?preview=true&_thumbnail_id=21906

Across much of Ethiopia, 2021 assistance needs are at their highest levels since 2016. The country has faced multiple hazards in sequence in the last two years, due to conflicts, civil unrest, desert locust infestation, floods, and drought, which has contributed to a deterioration in food insecurity.

According to IPC Analysis of Acute Food Insecurity Situation May - June 2021 and Projection for July - September 2021 it is estimated that 5.5 million people are facing acute food insecurity in Tigray and the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara in Ethiopia, with 353,000 people in Catastrophic situation (IPC Phase 5), which is the highest number of people in this category since the 2011 Somalia famine. Furthermore, there are 2.1 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 3.1 million High potential exists for the situation to worsen given causal aggravating factors remain prevalent, and unaddressed

https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/emergency-plan-action-epoa-ethiopia-food-security-dref-mdret026

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) strongly criticized the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission(EHRC) and accused it of omitting the atrocities it said were committed by the Amhara militias and government forces on Oromo civilians and selectively highlighting the Amhara victims in its report.

https://addisstandard.com/news-olf-slams-rights-commissions-report-on-recent-east-wollega-conflict-calls-for-independent-investigation/

As a result of the conflict spill over to Amhara and Afar regions, OCHA said that more than 300,000 people are believed to be displaced.

https://addisstandard.com/news-ocha-says-un-is-unable-to-bring-any-trucks-into-tigray-since-august-20-over-300000-people-displaced-in-afar-amhara-regions/?preview=true&_thumbnail_id=21939&fbclid=IwAR1W5wvXzHHtopyLq1TmsvmAnKS84BeenYLLUR8qLYKcWEFs2SyyhF2bvlc

“Peace cannot be made with apolitical movement that has been labeled as a terrorist group. Parliament should prepare to lift this designation to allow for direct contact and negotiation with armed actors opposing the government,” Ambassador Kimani said.

https://addisstandard.com/news-unsc-a-31-ask-ethiopian-lawmakers-to-lift-terrorist-designation-from-armed-actors-to-allow-direct-contact-negotiation/

Ethiopia's economy battered by Tigray war

Official statistics show the cost of basic consumer goods has indeed gone up in Ethiopia -they were on average around a quarter more expensive in July than a year earlier.

Ethiopia's overall economic growth for this year is forecast to slow significantly from 6% in 2020 to just 2% in 2021 - the lowest level in almost two decades, according to the IMF.

Also worrying economic observers is Ethiopia's national debt, which some expect to reach $60bn this year, or nearly 70% of GDP.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58319977

American Ambassador to Ethiopia Pasi joined a virtual roundtable with over 20 members of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) to discuss Ethiopia's business outlook. The Ambassador encouraged the U.S. companies to continue to engage their Ethiopian counterparts in keeping economic reform and growth on track

Source: U.S. Embassy Addis